hope chest


noun
  1. (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

1
First recorded in 1910–15

Words 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 Myers
  • Why, any girl would be glad to start a hope-chest with this, laughed Ruth.

    Polly and Her Friends Abroad | Lillian Elizabeth Roy
  • When 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 Myers
  • It 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 Eichler
  • There'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

hope chest

noun
  1. 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