make a clean breast of

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Definitions of make a clean breast of words

noun make a clean breast of Anatomy, Zoology. (in bipeds) the outer, front part of the thorax, or the front part of the body from the neck to the abdomen; chest. 1
noun make a clean breast of Zoology. the corresponding part in quadrupeds. 1
noun make a clean breast of either of the pair of mammae occurring on the chest in humans and having a discrete areola around the nipple, especially the mammae of the female after puberty, which are enlarged and softened by hormonally influenced mammary-gland development and fat deposition and which secrete milk after the birth of a child: the breasts of males normally remain rudimentary. 1
noun make a clean breast of the part of a garment that covers the chest. 1
noun make a clean breast of the bosom conceived of as the center of emotion: What anger lay in his breast when he made that speech? 1
noun make a clean breast of a projection from a wall, as part of a chimney. 1

before 1000

One of the 6% oldest English words

before 1000; Middle English brest, Old English brēost; cognate with Old Norse brjōst; akin to German Brust, Gothic brusts, Dutch borst

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 98% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

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