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:
It’s not being pitched as a replacement for common cancer screening methods, like mammograms for breast cancer or PSA blood tests for prostate cancer.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
For the romantics: Emily Yoffe’s essay “My Husband’s Other Wife” is a poignant ode to her husband’s first wife, who died of breast cancer tragically young.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
The researchers saw these effects across several types of cancer cells, including triple-negative breast cancer, ovarian cancer, lung adenocarcinoma, lung squamous cell carcinoma and acute myeloid leukemia.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
Denise Howarth is one of several women who have been told by the NHS that their breast was removed unnecessarily.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
“You should’ve worn my clothes,” Frankie muttered under his breath, drawing a small manila card from his evening coat’s breast pocket.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Another series of sculptures, “Miss Mao,” depicts the former leader with an exaggerated nose and breasts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Know how to check your breasts for cancer.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride and Wayne-Sanderson Farms already have been ramping up production of boneless chicken breasts and wings to meet what is expected to be an onslaught of consumer demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 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
She sets it on the table, and the chicken breasts and legs smothered in mushrooms and red sauce stare up at Justyce.
From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone
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
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
On a recent visit, a red breasted hawk perched atop a post where one of its security lights had broken and fallen off.
From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2023
Classy tailoring on suits, such as a double breasted number that opened the show with a delicate nip at the waists, contrasted with white sneakers and vests.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 26, 2022
Yet he could have breasted all these things in some way, if the central tenet of his heart had not been ravaged.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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
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
The sea god Neptune takes retribution by sending a monster who advances “across the expanse of ocean, breasting the surge of the waves” to devour Andromeda.
From Washington Post
Why couldn’t she have come inside the sweet, cool store when we saw them breasting the hill?
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
