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¹chestnut

noun chest·nut \ˈches(t)-(ˌ)nət\

: a type of tree that produces large, sweet nuts that can be eaten

: the nut of a chestnut tree

: the wood of a chestnut tree

Full Definition of CHESTNUT

a : any of a genus (Castanea) of trees or shrubs of the beech family; especially : an American tree (C. dentata) that was formerly a dominant or codominant member of many deciduous forests of the eastern United States but has now been largely eliminated by the chestnut blight and seldom grows beyond the shrub or sapling stage

b : the edible nut of a chestnut

c : the wood of a chestnut

: a grayish to reddish brown

: horse chestnut

: a chestnut-colored animal; specifically : a horse having a body color of any shade of pure or reddish brown with mane, tail, and points of the same or a lighter shade — compare ²bay 1, ¹sorrel 1

: a callosity on the inner side of the leg of the horse — see horse illustration

a : an old joke or story

b : something (as a musical piece or a saying) repeated to the point of staleness

See chestnut defined for English-language learners

See chestnut defined for kids

Origin of CHESTNUT

Middle English chasteine, chesten chestnut tree, from Anglo-French chastein, chestain, from Latin castanea, from Greek kastanea

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to CHESTNUT

Synonyms: banality, bromide, commonplace, cliché (also cliche), groaner, homily, platitude, shibboleth, trope, truism

Other Seed Plant Terms

aubergine, box, bramble, briar, composite, perpetual, pulse, trefoil

Rhymes with CHESTNUT

abut, all but, beechnut, blind gut, brush cut, buzz cut, catgut, clean-cut, clear-cut, cobnut, cockshut, crew cut, crosscut, doughnut, foregut, groundnut, haircut, jump cut, kick butt, locknut, Meerut, midgut, offcut, peanut, pignut, pine nut, putt-putt, rebut, recut, rotgut, rough cut, sackbut, shortcut, somewhat, tut-tut, uncut, walnut, wing nut, woodcut

²chestnut

adjective

: of a reddish-brown color

Full Definition of CHESTNUT

: of the color chestnut

: of, relating to, or resembling a chestnut

See chestnut defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of CHESTNUT

1555

Other Color Terms

argentine, cerise, cerulean, cyan, ocher, perse, puce, taupe, vermilion

CHESTNUT Defined for Kids

chestnut

noun chest·nut \ˈches-ˌnət\

Definition of CHESTNUT for Kids

: a sweet edible nut that grows in burs on a tree related to the beech

: a reddish brown

Medical Dictionary

chestnut

noun chest·nut \ˈches-(ˌ)nət\

Medical Definition of CHESTNUT

a : a tree or shrub of the genus Castanea (C. dentata) that is found in eastern North America and the leaf of which was formerly used to prepare an infusion for the treatment of whooping cough b : the edible nut of a chestnut

: a callosity on the inner side of the leg of the horse