chimney breast

American  

noun

1. a part of a chimney or fireplace that projects out from the wall, usually inside the building.

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chimney breast British  

noun

1. the wall or walls that surround the base of a chimney or fireplace

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Etymology

Origin of chimney breast

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chimney breast

A couple have tracked down relatives of a man after finding his birth certificate - dating from the 1800s - in a chimney breast.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2022

The color was introduced in the living room, on the shelves alongside the chimney breast, and was continued into the hall, on the baseboards and the door frames.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 11, 2019

Opposite the cedar in the entrance hall, a quartzite wall rises to the second level, where it becomes the living area’s fireplace surround and chimney breast.

From Architectural Digest ● May 5, 2015

The high square room is plain around the lower part, save for a chimney breast covered in plaster flames.

From New York Times ● Oct. 10, 2014

The chimney breast may be stepped back at the shelf height to form a narrow stone ledge, or the breast left without any shelf.

From Making a Fireplace by Saylor, Henry H. (Henry Hodgman)