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

Example Sentences

The Meta boss appeared in a dark suit and gray tie, his signature chestnut curls slightly mussed, darting occasional nervous looks at the jury and the 20-year-old plaintiff, who sat in the courtroom gallery.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From The Wall Street Journal

There’s chamomile, but there are also flavors like chestnut, forest berries and rose hips, peppermint mocha, white peach, spiced citrus, black strawberry….

From Literature

He talks about a recent lunch he made: soup with chestnuts.

From Salon

Akira’s chestnut gelding lay on his side, half in and half out of the water as the pool cover sagged under his weight.

From Literature

Related Words

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