chest

/t͡ʃɛst/

//t͡ʃɛst// noun

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

"chest" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“chest” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,883. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,883
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A box, now usually a large strong box with a secure convex lid.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chest · chest · English

chest · rank #2,883 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,883
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Carolina

Nearest frequency peer: Carolina (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “chest”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “chest” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

chest vs CST
0% similar
chest vs cost
60% similar
chest vs chew
60% similar

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

Key facts for chest
PropertyValue
Headwordchest
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/t͡ʃɛst/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,883
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “chest”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).chestlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Carolina” (#2,882), “conduct” (#2,884), “brief” (#2,881). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chest” is #2,883. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around chest (IPA /t͡ʃɛst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,883 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for chest, with forms such as "cchest", "cehst", and "chesst". 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, "CST", "cost", "chew", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cheste, chiste, from Old English ċest, ċist (“chest, casket; coffin; rush basket; box”), from Proto-West Germanic *kistu (“chest, box”), from Latin cista (“chest, box”), from Ancient Greek κίστη (kístē, “chest, box, basket, hamper”). The correct English form is chest, spelled C-H-E-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A box, now usually a large strong box with a secure convex lid.
  2. 2
    A coffin.
  3. 3
    The place in which public money is kept; a treasury.
  4. 4
    A chest of drawers.
  5. 5
    The portion of the human body from the base of the neck to the top of the abdomen; the homologous area in some other animals.
  6. 6
    The front (anterior) surface of this portion of the torso.
  7. 7
    A female human's breasts.
  8. 8
    A hit or blow made with one's chest.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how chest appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The clothes are kept in a chest.
  2. But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶[…]The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window at the old mare feeding in the meadow below by the brook, and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge…

Etymology

From Middle English cheste, chiste, from Old English ċest, ċist (“chest, casket; coffin; rush basket; box”), from Proto-West Germanic *kistu (“chest, box”), from Latin cista (“chest, box”), from Ancient Greek κίστη (kístē, “chest, box, basket, hamper”).

Synonyms

breasttrunk

This word in other languages

arca(Español)coffre(Français)Truhe(Deutsch)baú(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cchest
  • cehst
  • chesst
  • chestt
  • chets
  • chhest
  • chset
  • hcest

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chest - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

cchest1cehst2chesst1chestt1chets2chhest1chset2hcest2
Edit distance from "chest"

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 "chest"?
"chest" is spelled C-H-E-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /t͡ʃɛst/.
What does "chest" mean?
As a noun, "chest" means: A box, now usually a large strong box with a secure convex lid.
What words are commonly confused with "chest"?
"chest" is commonly confused with "CST", "cost", "chew". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chest"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chest" is /t͡ʃɛst/. 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 "chest"?
From Middle English cheste, chiste, from Old English ċest, ċist (“chest, casket; coffin; rush basket; box”), from Proto-West Germanic *kistu (“chest, box”), from Latin cista (“chest, box”), from Ancient Greek κίστη (kístē, “chest, box, basket, ham... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "chest", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

brief#2,881debut#2,885blind#2,879bills#2,878

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

decade8 variantssinger8 variantsthats8 variantsclubs8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list