chestnut

American  

[ches-nuht, -nuht] / ˈtʃɛsˌnʌt, -nət /

noun

1. any of the several deciduous trees constituting the genus Castanea, of the beech family, having toothed, oblong leaves and bearing edible nuts enclosed in a prickly bur, and including C. dentata American chestnut, which has been virtually destroyed by the chestnut blight, C. sativa European chestnut, C. mollissima Chinese chestnut, and C. crenata Japanese chestnut.

2. the edible nut of such a tree.

3. the wood of any of these trees.

4. any fruit or tree resembling the chestnut, as the horse chestnut.

5. reddish brown.

6. an old or stale joke, anecdote, etc.

7. the callosity on the inner side of the leg of a horse.

8. a reddish-brown horse having the mane and tail of the same color.

9. Also called liver chestnut.  a horse of a solid, dark-brown color.

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adjective

1. being reddish-brown in color.

2. (of food) containing or made with chestnuts.

   turkey with chestnut stuffing.

idioms

1. pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire, to rescue someone from a difficulty.

chestnut British  

/ ˈtʃɛsˌnʌt /

noun

1. any N temperate fagaceous tree of the genus Castanea, such as C. sativa ( sweet or Spanish chestnut ), which produce flowers in long catkins and nuts in a prickly bur Compare horse chestnut water chestnut dwarf chestnut

2. the edible nut of any of these trees

3. the hard wood of any of these trees, used in making furniture, etc

4. 1. a reddish-brown to brown colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      chestnut hair

5. a horse of a yellow-brown or golden-brown colour

6. a small horny callus on the inner surface of a horse's leg

7. informal an old or stale joke

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chestnut More Idioms  

1. see old chestnut.

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Other Word Forms

• chestnutty
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of chestnut

1350–1400; 1880–85 chestnut for def. 6; earlier chesten nut, Middle English chesten, Old English cysten chestnut tree (< Latin castanea < Greek kastanéa ) + nut

Explanation

A chestnut is a kind of tree; it's also the name of the nuts it grows and the dark brown color of their shells. So you could theoretically climb a chestnut and pick a chestnut-colored chestnut! American chestnuts, which were once abundant in the northeastern U.S., are essentially extinct today. You can still find edible chestnuts, which are delicious when roasted, that come from Asian-European hybrid trees. The color of this nut is perfect for describing brown things like your friend's glossy chestnut hair or your mom's chestnut boots. Colloquially, a chestnut is also an overly familiar joke, like that tired old chestnut your dad always tells that makes everyone groan.

Example Sentences

Investors are returning from the long weekend with some optimism as that old chestnut — hopes for an Iran peace pact — is helping push bond yields lower and stock futures higher.

From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026

Three giant horse chestnut trees, each over 80 feet tall, stand guard in front of my house.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

The sweet and soft nut plays a large role in traditional mountain cooking and tradition because in places where you couldn’t grow wheat or barley, there were still chestnut trees.

From Salon • Jan. 24, 2026

Kwon, 30, handily won with a chestnut tiramisu whipped together from chestnuts, milk, coffee and a package of biscuits.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 29, 2025

Before long, the dogwood, like the American chestnut and American elm, will effectively cease to exist.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• antic
• farce
• gag
• humor
• laugh
• one-liner
• parody
• prank
• pun
• stunt
• trick
• wisecrack