Chest

How to spell chest

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce chest

What does chest mean?

1. nounThe front part of the upper body, between the neck and the abdomen.
2. nounA large sturdy box, often with a hinged lid, used for storage.

Chest in a sentence

• A sharp pain in his chest sent him straight to the doctor.

• He kept his grandfather's medals in a wooden chest in the attic.

• She felt her chest tighten as the plane began to descend.

• The blankets were folded neatly inside the cedar chest at the foot of the bed.

Where does chest come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word entered Old English as cest or cist, meaning a box or strong coffer, and it was borrowed at an early date from the Latin cista, which itself came from the Greek kiste, the plain word for a basket or box. For centuries the word kept this original meaning of a sturdy container, and that sense still survives in expressions like a tool chest, a treasure chest, and a chest of drawers. The anatomical meaning, the front of the upper body, developed later because the rib cage was imagined as a box that holds and protects the organs, much as a chest holds valuables. The same Greek and Latin root also lies behind the word cistern, a tank for holding water, which helps explain why both relate to containing. Because the spelling has been stable since Old English and the sounds map cleanly onto the letters, the word causes very few problems for modern writers.

How the word is built

• chest (a single root; from Old English cest, a box or coffer, ultimately from Greek kiste)