breast
Americannoun
-
breasts
plural
-
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.
-
Zoology. the corresponding part in quadrupeds.
-
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.
-
the part of a garment that covers the chest.
-
the bosom conceived of as the center of emotion.
What anger lay in his breast when he made that speech?
-
a projection from a wall, as part of a chimney.
-
any surface or part resembling or likened to the human breast.
-
Mining. the face or heading at which the work is going on.
-
Metallurgy.
-
the front of an open-hearth furnace.
-
the clay surrounding the taphole of a cupola.
-
-
Nautical.
-
a rounded bow.
verb (used with object)
-
breasts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
breasted,
past participle, past
-
breasting
present participle
-
to meet or oppose boldly; confront.
As a controversial public figure he has breasted much hostile criticism.
-
to contend with or advance against.
The ship breasted the turbulent seas.
-
to climb or climb over (a mountain, obstacle, etc.).
-
to overcome, succeed against.
-
to come alongside or abreast of.
verb phrase
-
breast off
-
to thrust (a vessel) sideways from a wharf.
-
to keep (a vessel) away from a wharf by means of timbers.
-
-
breast in to bind (an object, as a boatswain's chair) securely under a projection, as the flare of a bow.
idioms
-
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.
-
beat one's breast, to display one's grief, remorse, etc., in a loud and demonstrative manner.
noun
-
the front part of the body from the neck to the abdomen; chest
-
either of the two soft fleshy milk-secreting glands on the chest in sexually mature human females adjective mammary
-
a similar organ in certain other mammals
-
anything that resembles a breast in shape or position
the breast of the hill
-
a source of nourishment
the city took the victims to its breast
-
the source of human emotions
-
the part of a garment that covers the breast
-
a projection from the side of a wall, esp that formed by a chimney
-
mining the face being worked at the end of a tunnel
-
to display guilt and remorse publicly or ostentatiously
-
to make a confession of
verb
-
to confront boldly; face
breast the storm
-
to oppose with the breast or meet at breast level
breasting the waves
-
to come alongside of
breast the ship
-
to reach the summit of
breasting the mountain top
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
breastsimple
-
breastssimple
-
have breastedperfect
-
has breastedperfect
-
am breastingprogressive
-
are breastingprogressive
-
is breastingprogressive
-
have been breastingperfect progressive
-
has been breastingperfect progressive
Past
-
breastedsimple
-
had breastedperfect
-
was breastingprogressive
-
were breastingprogressive
-
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:
Research into breast cancer or DNA sequencing that helped combat coronavirus could also be honoured.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
Finding the pain and discomfort too much, Howard says she visited her GP to ask about breast reduction surgery, but was told there was "no chance" she would qualify.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
She is now considering private breast reduction surgery, but says the estimated £6,000 - £9,000 cost is daunting.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
A chief breast surgeon at Kaiser and another surgeon who had retired from that job both testified that the Kaiser physician assistant failed to follow the health system’s guidelines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Now eighteen and dressed in an impeccably tailored suit with a white handkerchief deftly positioned in his breast pocket, he looked somewhat older and carried himself with an athletic swagger.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Another series of sculptures, “Miss Mao,” depicts the former leader with an exaggerated nose and breasts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
I tend to start with the protein and work outward: If two chicken breasts comfortably feed your two-person household, chop and freeze two with the scallions and ginger.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
The NHS says to check your breasts, external or chest about once a month.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Suppliers such as Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride and Wayne-Sanderson Farms ramped up offerings of boneless chicken breasts, wings and thighs over the past year to meet what was expected to be a surge in demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Lourdes felt a density between her breasts harden to a sharp, round pain.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
“Do you want single breasted or double breasted? Do you want a coat? Do you want it baggy? Do you want it slim? What color? What fabric?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2023
The opening look set the tone - an ivory, double breasted coat, buttoned snuggly across the chest before flaring out, the feathery fringe of a miniskirt poking out below.
From Reuters ● Jan. 24, 2023
Among the species he reported seeing were the hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, black-capped chickadee, red breasted nuthatch, white breasted nuthatch and red-bellied woodpecker.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 2, 2021
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
There were no fat little pigeon- breasted bags of gold.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
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.
