n. [ AS. bōsm; akin to D. bozem, Fries. bōsm, OHG. puosum, G. busen, and prob. E. bough. ] 1. The breast of a human being; the part, between the arms, to which anything is pressed when embraced by them. [ 1913 Webster ]

You must prepare your bosom for his knife. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Specifically: The breasts of a woman; as, an ample bosom. [ PJC ]

3. The breast, considered as the seat of the passions, affections, and operations of the mind; consciousness; secret thoughts. [ 1913 Webster ]

Tut, I am in their bosoms, and I know
Wherefore they do it. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom. Job xxxi. 33. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Embrace; loving or affectionate inclosure; fold. [ 1913 Webster ]

Within the bosom of that church. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Any thing or place resembling the breast; a supporting surface; an inner recess; the interior; as, the bosom of the earth. “The bosom of the ocean.” Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. The part of the dress worn upon the breast; an article, or a portion of an article, of dress to be worn upon the breast; as, the bosom of a shirt; a linen bosom. [ 1913 Webster ]

He put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. Ex. iv. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Inclination; desire. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. A depression round the eye of a millstone. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Of or pertaining to the bosom. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Intimate; confidential; familiar; trusted; cherished; beloved; as, a bosom friend. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bosomed p. pr. & vb. n. Bosoming. ] 1. To inclose or carry in the bosom; to keep with care; to take to heart; to cherish. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bosom up my counsel,
You'll find it wholesome. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To conceal; to hide from view; to embosom. [ 1913 Webster ]

To happy convents bosomed deep in vines. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Having, or resembling, bosom; kept in the bosom; hidden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. [ Combining form ] Having such a bosom; as, a big-bosomed woman. [ PJC ]

a. 1. Characterized by recesses or sheltered hollows. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Having a large bosom; -- of a woman. [ PJC ]

n. [ From S. N. Bose, an Indian physicist. ] (Physics) A fundamental particle that obeys Bose-Einstein statistical rules, but not the Pauli exclusion principle; the spin value of a boson is always an integer. Examples of bosons are alpha particles, photons, and those nuclei which have an even mass number. [ PJC ]

n. See Boatswain. [ Obs. ] [ Also spelled bosun. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Written also imbosom. ] 1. To take into, or place in, the bosom; to cherish; to foster. [ 1913 Webster ]

Glad to embosom his affection. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To inclose or surround; to shelter closely; to place in the midst of something. [ 1913 Webster ]

His house embosomed in the grove. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some tender flower . . . .
Embosomed in the greenest glade. Keble. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. having a pronounced womanly shape, with well-developed breasts. [ informal ]
Syn. -- bosomy, buxom, curvaceous, sonsie, sonsy, voluptuous. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Imbosomed p. pr. & vb. n. Imbosoming. ] [ Pref. im- in + bosom. Cf. Embosom. ] 1. To hold in the bosom; to cherish in the heart or affection; to embosom. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To inclose or place in the midst of; to surround or shelter; as, a house imbosomed in a grove. “Villages imbosomed soft in trees.” Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Father infinite,
By whom in bliss imbosomed sat the Son. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Unbosomed p. pr. & vb. n. Unbosoming. ] [ 1st pref. un- + bosom. ] To disclose freely; to reveal in confidence, as secrets; to confess; -- often used reflexively; as, to unbosom one's self. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who unbosoms, or discloses. [ R. ] “An unbosomer of secrets.” Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]