hope chest
(especially formerly) a chest or the like in which a young woman collected clothing, linens, and other articles in anticipation of marriage.
Origin of hope chest
1Words Nearby hope chest
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use hope chest in a sentence
"This is my room and this is my hope chest," she said proudly.
Patchwork | Anna Balmer MyersWhy, any girl would be glad to start a hope-chest with this, laughed Ruth.
Polly and Her Friends Abroad | Lillian Elizabeth RoyWhen the girl leaves the old nest for one of her own building the hope chest goes with her as a valuable portion of her dowry.
Patchwork | Anna Balmer MyersIt used to be the practice for each young girl to have a "hope chest" into which she put linens, etc., against the wedding day.
Book of Etiquette | Lillian EichlerThere's a fine place for the cage in my room—on my hope chest.
The Wrong Twin | Harry Leon Wilson
British Dictionary definitions for hope chest
US and Canadian a young woman's collection of clothes, linen, cutlery, etc, in anticipation of marriage: Also called (esp in Britain): bottom drawer
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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