chest

The word “chest” means the front part of the body between the neck and the stomach, containing the ribs, heart, and lungs. In plain terms, either the front of your torso (where your heart and lungs are) or a large storage box.

“Chest” is pronounced chehst (/t͡ʃɛst/ in IPA).

Here is “chest” used in a sentence: “He clutched his chest after running up the stairs.”

“Chest” is a noun.

The word “chest” comes from Latin. From Old English cest, "box," ultimately from Latin cista and Greek kiste — originally always meant a storage box; the body-part sense developed later by comparing the ribcage to a box.

“Chest” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Chest” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the front part of the body between the neck and the stomach, containing the ribs, heart, and lungs.

In everyday speech, chest is the common word for the front upper part of the body. Thorax is the anatomical and medical term for the same region — the cavity enclosed by the ribs and breastbone that houses the heart and lungs. Thorax is more precise; chest is more familiar.

The chest holds the heart and the two lungs, protected by the rib cage and breastbone. It also contains major blood vessels such as the aorta, the windpipe leading to the lungs, and the oesophagus, which carries food to the stomach. These vital organs make the chest a critical region.

Yes. Besides the part of the body, a chest is also a large, sturdy box with a lid used for storage, such as a treasure chest or a chest of drawers. The two meanings are unrelated in ordinary use, and context makes clear which one is intended.

Informally the chest is sometimes called the breast or bosom, especially in older or literary writing. In medicine it is the thorax or thoracic region. In fitness settings, people often refer to the chest muscles as pecs, short for the pectoral muscles that lie across the front.