v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Breasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Breasting. ] To meet, with the breast; to struggle with or oppose manfully; as, to breast the storm or waves. [ 1913 Webster ]

The court breasted the popular current by sustaining the demurrer. Wirt. [ 1913 Webster ]

To breast up a hedge, to cut the face of it on one side so as to lay bare the principal upright stems of the plants. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. brest, breost, As. breóst; akin to Icel. brjōst, Sw. bröst, Dan. bryst, Goth. brusts, OS. briost, D. borst, G. brust. ] 1. The fore part of the body, between the neck and the belly; the chest; as, the breast of a man or of a horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Either one of the protuberant glands, situated on the front of the chest or thorax in the female of man and of some other mammalia, in which milk is secreted for the nourishment of the young; a mamma; a teat. [ 1913 Webster ]

My brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother. Cant. viii. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Anything resembling the human breast, or bosom; the front or forward part of anything; as, a chimney breast; a plow breast; the breast of a hill. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mountains on whose barren breast
The laboring clouds do often rest. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mining) (a) The face of a coal working. (b) The front of a furnace. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The seat of consciousness; the repository of thought and self-consciousness, or of secrets; the seat of the affections and passions; the heart. [ 1913 Webster ]

He has a loyal breast. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. The power of singing; a musical voice; -- so called, probably, from the connection of the voice with the lungs, which lie within the breast. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

By my troth, the fool has an excellent breast. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Breast drill, a portable drilling machine, provided with a breastplate, for forcing the drill against the work. --
Breast pang. See Angina pectoris, under Angina. --
To make a clean breast, to disclose the secrets which weigh upon one; to make full confession. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. (Arch.) A torus. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A band for the breast. Specifically: (Naut.) A band of canvas, or a rope, fastened at both ends to the rigging, to support the man who heaves the lead in sounding. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Mach.) The front transverse beam of a locomotive. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The bone of the breast; the sternum. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Deep as from the breast to the feet; as high as the breast. [ 1913 Webster ]

Set him breast-deep in earth, and famish him. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having a breast; -- used in composition with qualifying words, in either a literal or a metaphorical sense; as, a single-breasted coat. [ 1913 Webster ]

The close minister is buttoned up, and the brave officer open-breasted, on these occasions. Spectator. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Naut.) A large rope to fasten the midship part of a ship to a wharf, or to another vessel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The interior slope of a fortification, against which the garrison lean in firing. [ 1913 Webster ]