breast definition | Dictionary.com

breast

[brest]

–noun

1.	Anatomy, Zoology. (in bipeds) the outer, front part of the thorax, or the front part of the body from the neck to the abdomen; chest.

2.	Zoology. the corresponding part in quadrupeds.

either of the pair of mammae occurring on the chest in humans and having a discrete areola around the nipple, esp. the mammae of the female after puberty, which are enlarged and softened by hormonally influenced mammary-gland development and fat deposition and which secrete milk after the birth of a child: the breasts of males normally remain rudimentary.

4.	the part of a garment that covers the chest.

5.	the bosom conceived of as the center of emotion: What anger lay in his breast when he made that speech?

6.	a projection from a wall, as part of a chimney.

7.	any surface or part resembling or likened to the human breast.

8.	Mining. the face or heading at which the work is going on.

Metallurgy.

a.	the front of an open-hearth furnace.

b.	the clay surrounding the taphole of a cupola.

10.

Nautical.

a.	breast line.

b.	a rounded bow.

–verb (used with object)

11.	to meet or oppose boldly; confront: As a controversial public figure he has breasted much hostile criticism.

12.	to contend with or advance against: The ship breasted the turbulent seas.

13.	to climb or climb over (a mountain, obstacle, etc.).

14.	to overcome, succeed against.

15.	to come alongside or abreast of.

—Verb phrases

16.	breast in, Nautical. to bind (an object, as a boatswain's chair) securely under a projection, as the flare of a bow.

17.

breast off, Nautical.

a.	to thrust (a vessel) sideways from a wharf.

b.	to keep (a vessel) away from a wharf by means of timbers.

—Idioms

18.	beat one's breast, to display one's grief, remorse, etc., in a loud and demonstrative manner.

19.	make a clean breast of, to confess everything (of which one is guilty): You'll feel better if you make a clean breast of it.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME brest, OE brēost; c. ON brjōst; akin to G Brust, Goth brusts, D borst

Related forms:

breastless, adjective

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breast line

–noun Nautical.

a mooring line securing a ship to that part of a pier alongside it.

Also called breast, breast fast.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To breast

breast (brěst)

1. Either of two milk-secreting, glandular organs on the chest of a woman; the human mammary gland.
2. A corresponding organ in other mammals.
3. A corresponding rudimentary gland in the male.
4. The superior ventral surface of the human body, extending from the neck to the abdomen.
5. A corresponding part in other animals.
1. The superior ventral surface of the human body, extending from the neck to the abdomen.
2. A corresponding part in other animals.
The part of a garment that covers the chest.
The seat of affection and emotion: "Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast" (Shakespeare).
A source of nourishment.
Something likened to the human breast: the breast of a hill.
The face of a mine or tunnel.

tr.v. breast·ed, breast·ing, breasts

To rise over; climb: "He breasted a rise and looked down. He was at the head of a small valley" (Ken Follett).
To encounter or advance against resolutely; confront boldly.
To push against with or as if with the breast.

[Middle English brest, from Old English brēost.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Breast

Breast\ (br[e^]st), n. [OE. brest, breost, As. bre['o]st; akin to Icel. brj[=o]st, Sw. br["o]st, Dan. bryst, Goth. brusts, OS. briost, D. borst, G. brust.]

1. The fore part of the body, between the neck and the belly; the chest; as, the breast of a man or of a horse.

2. Either one of the protuberant glands, situated on the front of the chest or thorax in the female of man and of some other mammalia, in which milk is secreted for the nourishment of the young; a mamma; a teat.

My brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother. --Cant. viii. 1.

3. Anything resembling the human breast, or bosom; the front or forward part of anything; as, a chimney breast; a plow breast; the breast of a hill.

Mountains on whose barren breast The laboring clouds do often rest. --Milton.

4. (Mining) (a) The face of a coal working. (b) The front of a furnace.

5. The seat of consciousness; the repository of thought and self-consciousness, or of secrets; the seat of the affections and passions; the heart.

He has a loyal breast. --Shak.

6. The power of singing; a musical voice; -- so called, probably, from the connection of the voice with the lungs, which lie within the breast. [Obs.]

By my troth, the fool has an excellent breast. --Shak.

Breast drill, a portable drilling machine, provided with a breastplate, for forcing the drill against the work.

Breast pang. See Angina pectoris, under Angina.

To make a clean breast, to disclose the secrets which weigh upon one; to make full confession.

Breast

Breast\, v. t. [imp. & p. p.Breasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Breasting.] To meet, with the breast; to struggle with or oppose manfully; as, to breast the storm or waves.

The court breasted the popular current by sustaining the demurrer. --Wirt.

To breast up a hedge, to cut the face of it on one side so as to lay bare the principal upright stems of the plants.

Language Translation for : breast

Spanish: pecho, seno, mama,

German: die Brust,

Japanese: 乳房

More Translations »

breast

O.E. breost, from P.Gmc. *breustam (cf. O.S. briost, O.N. brjost, Ger. brust, Goth. brusts), perhaps from PIE base *bhreus-/*bhrus- "to swell, sprout" (cf. M.Ir. bruasach "having a broad, strong chest," O.Ir. bruinne "breast"). The spelling conforms to the Scot. and northern Eng. dial. pronunciation. Figurative sense of "seat of the emotions" was in O.E. Breastwork "fieldwork thrown up breast-high for defense" is from 1642.

Main Entry: breast
Pronunciation: 'brest
Function: noun
1 : either of the pair of mammary glands extending from the front of the chest in pubescentand adult females of humans and some other mammals; also : either of the analogous but rudimentary organs of the male chest especially when enlarged
2 : the fore orventral part of the body between the neck and the abdomen

breast (brěst)
n.

Either of two milk-secreting, glandular organs on the chest of a woman; mammary gland; mamma.
A corresponding rudimentary gland in the male.
The superior ventral surface of the human body, extending from the neck to the abdomen.

breast

see keep abreast of; make a clean breast of.

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