breast

B1 Topic:People & Society

Also spelled breas and brests

US /bɹɛst/ See IPA manual

Freq #4659

Meanings

1

noun
Either of the two soft parts on a woman's chest that can produce milk.

The baby fed at its mother's breast.
2

noun
The front part of the chest in people or animals.

He folded his arms across his breast.
3

noun
The chest seen as the place where feelings come from.

Hope grew in the breast of everyone who heard her speak.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · the front part of the chest... chest

3 noun · the chest seen as the place... heart soul

Opposites

thigh wing

Word family

Forms breastedbreastingbreasts

Derived forms abreastbluebreastbreast-beatingbreast-fedbreast-feedbreast-girdlebreast-girthbreast-strapbreastapobreastaurantbreastbandbreastbeam

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

chicken breast
meat from the front of a chicken's body, often sold as a separate cut

Noun + noun

Proverbs (2)

See all

Etymology

From Middle English brest, from Old English brēost, from Proto-West Germanic *breust, from Proto-Germanic *breustą, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to swell”). Compare West Frisian boarst, Danish bryst, Swedish bröst; cf. also Dutch borst, German Brust.

brest Middle English brēost Old English *breust Proto-West Germanic *breustą Proto-Germanic *bʰrews- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# breast

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /bɹɛst/
**Frequency rank:** 4659

## Meanings
1. Either of the two soft parts on a woman's chest that can produce milk.
2. The front part of the chest in people or animals.
3. The chest seen as the place where feelings come from.

## Examples
- The baby fed at its mother's breast.
- He folded his arms across his breast.
- Hope grew in the breast of everyone who heard her speak.

## Antonyms
- thigh
- wing

## Derived Forms
- abreast
- bluebreast
- breast-beating
- breast-fed
- breast-feed
- breast-girdle
- breast-girth
- breast-strap
- breastapo
- breastaurant
- breastband
- breastbeam

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: brest
- Root: brēost
- Root: *breust
- Root: *breustą
- Root: *bʰrews-

## Etymology
From Middle English brest, from Old English brēost, from Proto-West Germanic *breust, from Proto-Germanic *breustą, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to swell”). Compare West Frisian boarst, Danish bryst, Swedish bröst; cf. also Dutch borst, German Brust.

## AI Etymology
Breast comes from Middle English brest, from Old English brēost, from Proto-West Germanic *breust, from Proto-Germanic *breustą, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to swell”). Compare West Frisian boarst, Danish bryst, Swedish bröst; cf. also Dutch borst, German Brust.

## Topics
- People & Society

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