breast
/bɹɛst/noun, verb
breast is spelled B-R-E-A-S-T: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 22 times per million words in written English, the 3,939th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, breast means “Either of the two organs on the front of a female human's chest, which contain the mammary glands; also the analogous organs in males” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of breast is breasts.
How many letters and syllables are in breast?
| Letters | 6: B-R-E-A-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 22 times per million words; the 3,939th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is breast?
Breast appears 22 times per million words in written English, the 3,939th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce breast?
- US /bɹɛst/
- Australia /bɹest/
- /bɾɛst/
Breast has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-breast.wav, En-us-breast.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with breast?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as breast from its last stressed vowel (/ɛst/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: baster.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of breast
- breasts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- breasting participle, present
- breasted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does breast mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Either of the two organs on the front of a female human's chest, which contain the mammary glands; also the analogous organs in males.
Tanya’s breasts grew remarkably during pregnancy.
- 2
The chest, or front of the human thorax.
- 3
A section of clothing covering the breast area.
- 4
The figurative seat of the emotions, feelings etc.; one’s heart or innermost thoughts.
She kindled hope in the breast of all who heard her.
- 5
The ventral portion of an animal’s thorax.
The robin has a red breast.
- 6
A choice cut of poultry, especially chicken or turkey, taken from the bird’s breast; also a cut of meat from other animals, breast of mutton, veal, pork.
Would you like breast or wing?
- 7
The front or forward part of anything.
chimney breast
- 8
The upper surface of a landform or body of water.
verb
- 1
To push against with the breast; to meet full on, oppose, face.
- 2
To reach the top of (a hill or other prominence).
He breasted the hill and saw the town before him.
- 3
To debreast.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Breast in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sein, poitrine , cœur |
| German | Brust , Brustkorb , -brust, Entenbrust |
| Portuguese | seio, peito, mama, maminha , peitos |
| Spanish | pecho, seno, teta, mama, chichi, chiche |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does breast come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).