breast
Americannoun
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breasts
plural
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Anatomy, Zoology. (in bipeds) the outer, front part of the thorax, or the front part of the body from the neck to the abdomen; chest.
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Zoology. the corresponding part in quadrupeds.
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either of the pair of mammae occurring on the chest in humans and having a discrete areola around the nipple, especially the mammae of the female after puberty, which are enlarged and softened by hormonally influenced mammary-gland development and fat deposition and which secrete milk after the birth of a child: the breasts of males normally remain rudimentary.
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the part of a garment that covers the chest.
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the bosom conceived of as the center of emotion.
What anger lay in his breast when he made that speech?
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a projection from a wall, as part of a chimney.
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any surface or part resembling or likened to the human breast.
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Mining. the face or heading at which the work is going on.
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Metallurgy.
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the front of an open-hearth furnace.
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the clay surrounding the taphole of a cupola.
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Nautical.
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a rounded bow.
verb (used with object)
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breasts,
present (3rd person singular)
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breasted,
past participle, past
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breasting
present participle
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to meet or oppose boldly; confront.
As a controversial public figure he has breasted much hostile criticism.
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to contend with or advance against.
The ship breasted the turbulent seas.
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to climb or climb over (a mountain, obstacle, etc.).
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to overcome, succeed against.
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to come alongside or abreast of.
verb phrase
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breast off
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to thrust (a vessel) sideways from a wharf.
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to keep (a vessel) away from a wharf by means of timbers.
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breast in to bind (an object, as a boatswain's chair) securely under a projection, as the flare of a bow.
idioms
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make a clean breast of, to confess everything (of which one is guilty).
You'll feel better if you make a clean breast of it.
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beat one's breast, to display one's grief, remorse, etc., in a loud and demonstrative manner.
noun
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the front part of the body from the neck to the abdomen; chest
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either of the two soft fleshy milk-secreting glands on the chest in sexually mature human females adjective mammary
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a similar organ in certain other mammals
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anything that resembles a breast in shape or position
the breast of the hill
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a source of nourishment
the city took the victims to its breast
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the source of human emotions
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the part of a garment that covers the breast
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a projection from the side of a wall, esp that formed by a chimney
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mining the face being worked at the end of a tunnel
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to display guilt and remorse publicly or ostentatiously
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to make a confession of
verb
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to confront boldly; face
breast the storm
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to oppose with the breast or meet at breast level
breasting the waves
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to come alongside of
breast the ship
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to reach the summit of
breasting the mountain top
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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breastsimple
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breastssimple
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have breastedperfect
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has breastedperfect
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am breastingprogressive
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are breastingprogressive
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is breastingprogressive
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have been breastingperfect progressive
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has been breastingperfect progressive
Past
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breastedsimple
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had breastedperfect
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was breastingprogressive
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were breastingprogressive
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had been breastingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of breast
before 1000; Middle English brest, Old English brēost; cognate with Old Norse brjōst; akin to German Brust, Gothic brusts, Dutch borst
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Actress Lucy Davis has told fans she is "grateful" for their support as she made an appearance at a London sci-fi convention, following the recent revelation she has incurable breast cancer.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
“Sales of our proteins and modifiers have increased 300 to 400%. They’ll substitute out three ounces of chicken and get a full chicken breast, which is eight ounces of chicken.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
It was the first time Davis had appeared at a public event since announcing on 11 August that she has stage four breast cancer.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
"Understanding why breast cancer is increasing so rapidly in these communities is critical," Gomez said.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
I tuck their tear-streaked cheeks to my breast, to comfort.
From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon
Older women are offered routine mammogram scans to check their breasts, but under 50s do not get any breast screening unless they have a strong family history of the disease.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
During this hormonal shift, your body holds on to more fluids, meaning you may end up with a puffier face, general bloating and tender, swollen breasts.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Strong demand for its chicken breasts and frozen nuggets, and cheap livestock, have helped boost its bottom-line profits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Anyone concerned the event might not adequately cover its poultry bases can also breathe easy: “blackened chicken, packaged chicken, boneless skinless chicken breasts and chicken legs” have all been noted.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
He said fasting messed up his carefully balanced diet of simply grilled chicken breasts and staring at his abs in the mirror.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
The postwar “Bold Look” promoted by Esquire magazine in the spring of 1948 features a man with a boldly printed tie; pinstripes and double breasted cuts likewise remained.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2023
A double breasted coat-jacket in gray had blown-up pinstripes with the dominant silhouette of a wide, flat front.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 23, 2018
Saturday’s muted variation on sartorial elegance - fitted double breasted wool suits, Left Bank dark turtle necks, loose, pin-striped jackets and sumptuous car coats - was just this.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 24, 2015
Double- breasted or three-button coats and a plethora of vests made for a sharp and smart collection.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2014
He appears wearing a double- breasted suit, an unneeded raincoat draped over his arm.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
The point is for his team to be playing its best basketball in March, like a sprinter hitting top speed while breasting the finish-line tape.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2023
Part of Singapore's reason for dismissing American pedagogy is "navigational" in a geopolitical sense: Lee Hsien Loong likens his country to a small but doughty craft breasting powerful riptides of global economics and politics.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2021
Back on my bike, breasting the air, freshly euphoric, I rode south.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 11, 2018
In Douglas’s case, he leans forward, as if forever grasping the prow of a Viking ship, breasting the waves and building up an appetite for experience.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 9, 2016
I’m examining the arches of my feet, trying to understand what it means that they have “fallen,” when I see Clementine breasting through the water to me.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
