chest

chest S2 W3 /tʃest/ noun [countable]
[Language: Old English; Origin: cest, from Latin cista 'box, basket', from Greek kiste 'basket']
1. the front part of your body between your neck and your stomach ⇨ breast:
   • Her heart was pounding in her chest.
   • a hairy chest
  chest pain/infection/injury
   • He collapsed with severe chest pains. ⇨ flat-chested
2. a large strong box that you use to store things in or to move your personal possessions from one place to another:
   • a large wooden chest ⇨ chest of drawers, tea chest, war chest
3. get something off your chest to tell someone about something that has been worrying or annoying you for a long time, so that you feel better afterwards
     • • •

COLLOCATIONS■ adjectives

   ▪ broad • a tall man with a broad chest and shoulders
   ▪ powerful • His arms were folded across his powerful chest.
   ▪ muscular (=with big muscles) • His chest was tanned and muscular.
   ▪ hairy • His shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a hairy chest.
   ▪ bare (=not covered by clothes) • The workmen all had bare chests.
   ▪ bad (=one that is making you cough or giving you pain) • I'm not going running today - my chest is bad.
   ▪ weak (=one that often gets infections) • As a child her chest was weak.

■ chest + NOUN

   ▪ a chest pain • There are a number of causes of chest pain.
   ▪ a chest infection • Every time I get a cold I get a chest infection too.
   ▪ a chest complaint/problem (=something wrong with your chest and causing you pain) • Older people often suffer from chest complaints.
   ▪ a chest injury/wound • He suffered serious chest injuries in the accident.
   ▪ a chest X-ray (=a photograph of the inside of your chest, to see if it is healthy) • A chest X-ray showed that there was damage to his lungs.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

chest

chest [chest chests] [tʃest] [tʃest] noun

1. the top part of the front of the body, between the neck and the stomach

• The bullet hit him in the chest.

• She gasped for breath, her chest heaving.

• a chest infection

• chest pains

• a hairy chest

2. -chested (in adjectives) having the type of chest mentioned

• flat-chested

• broad-chested

3. a large strong box, usually made of wood, used for storing things in and/or moving them from one place to another

• a medicine chest

• a treasure chest

see also hope chest, tea chest, war chest

more at hold/keep/play your cards close to your chest at card n.

Idiom: get something off your chest

Word Origin:

Old English cest, cyst, related to Dutch kist and German Kiste, based on Greek kistē ‘box’.

Collocations:

Physical appearance

A person may be described as having:

Eyes

(bright) blue/green/(dark/light) brown/hazel eyes

deep-set/sunken/bulging/protruding eyes

small/beady/sparkling/twinkling/(informal) shifty eyes

piercing/penetrating/steely eyes

bloodshot/watery/puffy eyes

bushy/thick/dark/raised/arched eyebrows

long/dark/thick/curly/false eyelashes/lashes

Face

a flat/bulbous/pointed/sharp/snub nose

a straight/a hooked/a Roman/(formal) an aquiline nose

full/thick/thin/pouty lips

dry/chapped/cracked lips

flushed/rosy/red/ruddy/pale cheeks

soft/chubby/sunken cheeks

white/perfect/crooked/protruding teeth

a large/high/broad/wide/sloping forehead

a strong/weak/pointed/double chin

a long/full/bushy/wispy/goatee beard

a long/thin/bushy/droopy/handlebar/pencil moustache/ (especially US) mustache

Hair and skin

pale/fair/olive/dark/tanned skin

dry/oily/smooth/rough/leathery/wrinkled skin

a dark/pale/light/sallow/ruddy/olive/swarthy/clear complexion

deep/fine/little/facial wrinkles

blonde/blond/fair/(light/dark) brown/(jet-)black/auburn/red/(BrE) ginger/grey hair

straight/curly/wavy/frizzy/spiky hair

thick/thin/fine/bushy/thinning hair

dyed/bleached/soft/silky/dry/greasy/shiny hair

long/short/shoulder-length/cropped hair

a bald/balding/shaved head

a receding hairline

a bald patch/spot

a side/centre/(US) center (BrE) parting/ (NAmE) part

Body

a long/short/thick/slender/(disapproving) scrawny neck

broad/narrow/sloping/rounded/hunched shoulders

a bare/broad/muscular/small/large chest

a flat/swollen/bulging stomach

a small/tiny/narrow/slim/slender/28-inch waist

big/wide/narrow/slim hips

a straight/bent/arched/broad/hairy back

thin/slender/muscular arms

big/large/small/manicured/calloused/gloved hands

long/short/fat/slender/delicate/bony fingers

long/muscular/hairy/shapely/(both informal, often disapproving) skinny/spindly legs

muscular/chubby/(informal, disapproving) flabby thighs

big/little/small/dainty/wide/narrow/bare feet

a good/a slim/a slender/an hourglass figure

be of slim/medium/average/large/athletic/stocky build

Example Bank:

• ‘You've got to have courage,’ he said, thumping his chest.

• Clutching his chest in agony, he fell to the ground.

• He puffed out his chest proudly.

• He suffered burns to the chest and neck.

• Her chest tightened with fear.

• His chest puffed out with indignation at the suggestion.

• His chest swelled with pride as he accepted the award.

• She clutched her baby tightly to her chest.

• She ran until her chest ached.

• She was hit in the chest by two of the bullets.

• She wears loose clothes to hide her flat chest.

• the hairs on his chest

• The documents were kept in an ancient oak chest with a brass lock.

• We packed all the china in tea chests.

• a pirate's treasure chest

war chest

ˈwar chest [war chest] noun

an amount of money that a government or an organization has available to spend on a particular plan, project, etc.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

chest

chest (BOX) /tʃest/
noun [C]
a large strong box, usually made of wood, which is used for storing valuable goods or possessions or for moving possessions from one place to another:
Her books and clothes were packed into chests and shipped across to Canada.

chest (BODY PART) /tʃest/
noun [C]
the upper front part of the body of humans and some animals, between the stomach and the neck, enclosing the heart and lungs:
He was shot in the chest at point blank range.
He folded his arms across his chest.
His shirt was open to the waist revealing a very hairy chest.
She went to the doctor complaining of chest pains.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

chest

/tʃest/
(chests)

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.

1.
Your chest is the top part of the front of your body where your ribs, lungs, and heart are.
He crossed his arms over his chest...
He was shot in the chest...
He complained of chest pain.
N-COUNT: oft poss N

2.
A chest is a large, heavy box used for storing things.
At the very bottom of the chest were his carving tools.
...a treasure chest.
...a medicine chest.
= trunk
N-COUNT

3.
If you get something off your chest, you talk about something that has been worrying you.
I feel it’s done me good to get it off my chest.
≠ bottle up
PHRASE: V inflects

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

chest

chest /ˈʧɛst/ noun, pl chests [count]
1 : a container (such as a box or case) for holding things or moving them from place to place
• a linen chest
• a tool chest
• a treasure chest
• a medicine chest [=a cabinet on a bathroom wall that is used for storing medicine and small items]
- see also chest of drawers, hope chest, war chest
2 : the front part of the body between the neck and the stomach
• He has a broad chest.
• The pain is in my upper chest.
- often used before another noun
• the chest cavity
• a chest X-ray
• She's been complaining of chest pains.
- see picture at human
close to your chest
- see ²close
get (something) off your chest : to tell someone about something that has been making you upset or unhappy
• You've been a little cold to me lately. Is there something you'd like to get off your chest?
- chest·ed /ˈʧɛstəd/ adj
- used in combination
• flat-chested
• bare-chested