bosom

CEFRC2

/ˈbʊz(ə)m/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The chest or breast area; a close inner part.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    The protected interior or inner part of something; the area enclosed as by an embrace.

Examples

  • He was happy in the bosom of his family.

  • I will keep it in my bosom.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The seat of one's inner thoughts, feelings, etc.; one's secret feelings; desire.

  2. The breast or chest of a human (or sometimes of another animal).

  3. The part of a dress etc. covering the chest; a neckline.

More examples

In context

  • 1822, James Hogg, The Three Perils of Man, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, Volume 3, Chapter 12, pp. 440-441, I looked again, and though I was sensible it must be a delusion brought on by the stroke of his powerful rod, yet I did see the appearanc...

  • 1905, Alex Macdonald, In Search of El Dorado, London: T. Fisher Unwin, Part II, “The Five-Mile Rush,” p. 92, What Stewart called a “langtailie coat” spread out behind him like streamers in a breeze, a “biled” collar had, in the same gentleman’s terse language...

  • bosom buddies

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

She kept the secret letter hidden in the blank of her dress.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English bosom, bosum, from Old English bōsm, from Proto-West Germanic *bōsm, from Proto-Germanic *bōsmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewH- (“to swell, bend, curve”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Bossem, Bousem (“bosom”), West Frisian boezem (“bosom”), Dutch boezem (“bosom”), German Busen (“bosom”). Related also to Albanian buzë (“lip”), Greek βυζί (vyzí, “breast”), Romanian buză (“lip”), Irish bus (“lip”), and Latin bucca (“cheek”).