breast

/bɹɛst/

//bɹɛst// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"breast" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“breast” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,927 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,927
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - 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.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

breast vs brett
67% similar
breast vs Brent
50% similar
breast vs brews
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for breast
PropertyValue
Headwordbreast
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɹɛst/
Letters6
Frequency rank#3,927
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “breast” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). breast lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for breast is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bɹɛst/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,927 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for breast, with forms such as "bbreast", "berast", and "braest". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "brett", "Brent", "brews", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is breast, spelled B-R-E-A-S-T.

Definition

  1. 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.
  2. 2
    The chest, or front of the human thorax.
  3. 3
    A section of clothing covering the breast area.
  4. 4
    The figurative seat of the emotions, feelings etc.; one’s heart or innermost thoughts.
  5. 5
    The ventral portion of an animal’s thorax.
  6. 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.
  7. 7
    The front or forward part of anything.
  8. 8
    The upper surface of a landform or body of water.
  9. 9
    The face of a coal working.
  10. 10
    The front of a furnace.
  11. 11
    The power of singing; a musical voice.
  12. 12
    The breaststroke.

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.

Synonyms

chestheartsoulwhite meatbrisket

Antonyms

thighwingdark meat

This word in other languages

pecho(Español)sein(Français)Brust(Deutsch)seio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbreast,berast,braest,breasst,breastt,breats,bresat,brreast,rbeast

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of breast - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bbreast1berast2braest2breasst1breastt1breats2bresat2brreast1
Edit distance from "breast"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "breast"?
"breast" is spelled B-R-E-A-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /bɹɛst/.
What does "breast" mean?
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.
What words are commonly confused with "breast"?
"breast" is commonly confused with "brett", "Brent", "brews". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "breast"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "breast" is /bɹɛst/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "breast"?
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, Ger... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “breast”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-R-E-A-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /bɹɛst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “brett” - see the side-by-side comparison. breast vs brett
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list