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Glite Dictionary
with chest out

with chest out

6.5
Act in a confident way by standing or walking with the chest pushed forward
  • idiom
translation icon : con el pecho en alto
  • She entered the meeting with chest out, ready to present her ideas.

Examples

  • She faced the crowd with chest out and a big smile.

  • He always walks with chest out after a big victory.

  • Despite the tough questions, the politician responded with chest out and unwavering composure.

  • He walked with chest out after winning the award.

  • She entered the room with chest out, showing her confidence during the presentation.

  • After training hard for weeks, he marched with chest out, proud of his accomplishments.

  • He approached the interview with chest out, believing in his abilities to impress the panel.

Synonyms

boldly
vswith chest out
54 3.3

Act in a confident, brave way without fear or hesitation

shows confidence with visible physical or emotional assurance
brazenly
vswith chest out
9 6.8

In a bold way without shame

shows confidence but not the shameless disregard for others
brashly
vswith chest out
1 6.8

In a bold, rude way that shows little respect

shows confidence without the rudeness or lack of caution
flauntingly
vswith chest out
7.5

In a way that openly shows off to get attention

shows assurance without aiming to attract attention or show off

Antonyms

timidly
7 3.2

Move or speak in a shy, nervous way because of low confidence

How Confident

boldly
54 3.3
with chest out
6.5
confidently
36 2.9
uncertainly
11 4.0
timidly
7 3.2

Surface Forms

with chest out positive

Morphology

with + chest + out

The phrase literally describes the chest being pushed or protruding outward, so a learner who knows 'with' + 'chest' + 'out' can infer a confident, bold posture. This is a straightforward compositional meaning found in many languages (e.g., Spanish 'con el pecho fuera'), making it immediately understandable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The adverb with chest out comes from a simple image: when someone pushes their chest out, they stand taller and look proud. So saying someone walked or spoke 'with chest out' means they behaved 'to show confidence'.