chestnut

UK: /ˈtʃɛsnʌt/ US: /ˈtʃɛsˌnʌt, -nət/ ,(ches′nut′, -nət)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

chest•nut /ˈtʃɛsˌnʌt, -nət/   n. 

1. Plant Biology [countable] any of several tall trees of the beech family, having nuts that can be eaten.
2. Botany, Plant Biology [countable] the nut of such a tree.
3. [uncountable] the wood of any of these trees.
4. [uncountable] a reddish brown color.
5. [countable] an old joke, etc., that is no longer funny.
6. Dog and Cat Breeds [countable] a horse having a reddish brown or brown body with mane and tail of the same or a lighter color.

adj. 

7. reddish brown.

chest•nut•ty, adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

chest•nut  (ches′nut′, -nət), n. 

1. Plant Biology any of the several deciduous trees constituting the genus Castanea, of the beech family, having toothed, oblong leaves and bearing edible nuts enclosed in a prickly bur, and including C. dentata (American chestnut,) which has been virtually destroyed by the chestnut blight, C. sativa (European chestnut,) C. mollissima (Chinese chestnut,) and C. crenata (Japanese chestnut.)
2. Plant Biology the edible nut of such a tree.
3. the wood of any of these trees.
4. Plant Biology any fruit or tree resembling the chestnut, as the horse chestnut.
5. reddish brown.
6. an old or stale joke, anecdote, etc.
7. Zoology the callosity on the inner side of the leg of a horse. See diag. under horse. 
8. Dog and Cat Breeds a reddish-brown horse having the mane and tail of the same color. Cf. bay⁵ (def. 2).
9. Dog and Cat Breeds Also called liver chestnut. a horse of a solid, dark-brown color.
10. Idioms pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire, to rescue someone from a difficulty.

adj. 

11. reddish-brown.
12. Food (of food) containing or made with chestnuts:
    turkey with chestnut stuffing.

• Greek kastanéa) + nut
• Latin castanea
• 1350–1400; 1880–85 for def. 6; earlier chesten nut, Middle English chesten, Old English cysten chestnut tree (

chest′nut′ty, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

chestnut / ˈtʃɛsˌnʌt/ noun

1. any N temperate fagaceous tree of the genus Castanea, such as C. sativa (sweet or Spanish chestnut), which produce flowers in long catkins and nuts in a prickly bur
   Compare horse chestnut, water chestnut
2. the edible nut of any of these trees
3. the hard wood of any of these trees, used in making furniture, etc
4. a reddish-brown to brown colour
5. (as adjective): chestnut hair
6. a horse of a yellow-brown or golden-brown colour
7. an old or stale joke

Etymology: 16th Century: from earlier chesten nut: chesten, from Old French chastaigne, from Latin castanea, from Greek kastanea