bosom

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableold-fashionedformal

   A person's chest, especially a woman's breasts, usually spoken of in an old-fashioned or polite way.

   Grammar: Countable but often singular for one person: she held the baby to her bosom.

   Patterns

   • clasp someone to your bosom
   • hold something to your bosom

   She clasped the letter to her bosom and smiled.

   The mother held the sleeping baby close to her bosom.

   He folded his arms across his broad bosom.

2. 2nounsingularfigurativeliterary

   A place of safety, warmth and belonging, such as a family or community.

   Grammar: Almost always in the phrase the bosom of something: she returned to the bosom of her family.

   Patterns

   • in the bosom of something
   • return to the bosom of something

   After years abroad, he came home to the bosom of his family.

   The village sat in the bosom of the hills.

   She was welcomed into the bosom of the church.

3. 3adjectivebefore a nounold-fashioned

   Very close and trusted, used about friends.

   Grammar: Only before a noun, mainly in bosom friend and bosom buddy.

   Patterns

   • a bosom friend
   • a bosom buddy

   The two boys had been bosom friends since kindergarten.

   She wrote to her bosom buddy every week.

   Their bosom pals were always at the door.

Word forms

Common combinations

bosom friend

Anne called her bosom friend whenever she had news.

bosom buddy

He and his bosom buddy shared an apartment for years.

in the bosom of the family

She spent her last years in the bosom of the family.

clasp to her bosom

The girl clasped the doll to her bosom.

bosom of the earth

Miners dug deep into the bosom of the earth for coal.

Synonyms and how they differ

chest

Chest is the plain, neutral word for the front of the upper body and is far more common than bosom today.

breast

Breast is more direct and can be medical, whereas bosom is gentler and more poetic.

heart

Heart fits the emotional sense, but bosom adds the image of a sheltering embrace.

embrace

Embrace stresses the act of holding someone, while bosom names the place of closeness.

Word family

bosomy adjective

having large breasts, often used in a joking or old-fashioned way

embosom verb

a literary verb meaning to enfold or surround

bosom buddy noun

a very close friend

bosom friend noun

a dear, trusted friend

Commonly confused: bosom or bossom?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “bosom”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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