abreast

English

WOTD – 7 December 2015

Etymology

From Middle English abrest. By surface analysis, a- (“on, at”) +‎ breast, meaning “breasts (chests) in line, side-by-side and exactly equally advanced”;^[1] roughly “breast-by-breast”.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /əˈbɹɛst/
Audio (US): (file)
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Rhymes: -ɛst
Hyphenation: abreast

Adverb

abreast (not comparable)

Side by side and facing forward. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470.)]^[2]
Hyponym: neck and neck (as horses racing)

Coordinate term: tandem
- 2012 July 15, Richard Williams, “Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track”, in Guardian Unlimited‎^[1]:
  On Sunday afternoon it was as dark as night, with barely room for two riders abreast on a gradient that touches 20%.
- 1859, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second:
  The only path was narrow and rugged: two men could hardly walk abreast;
(figurative) Alongside; parallel to. [First attested in the mid 17^th century.]^[2]
Informed, well-informed, familiar, acquainted. [First attested in the mid 17^th century.]^[2]
Followed by of or with: up to a certain level or line; equally advanced. [First attested in the mid 17^th century.]^[2]
She believes it is important to keep abreast of new scientific developments.
(Scotland) Breast high (of an advancing wave).
The west wind blew a tempest, and, according to the common expression, brought in the water [of the Solway] three foot abreast.
(nautical) Side by side; also, opposite; on a line with the vessel's beam. [First attested in the late 17^th century.]^[2]
(obsolete) At the same time; simultaneously.
- 1842, Thomas Fuller, The Church History of Britain, From the birth of Jesus Christ until the year MDCXLVIII., 3rd edition, volume 1, page 412:
  Abreast therewith began a convocation.

Usage notes

(nautical): Abreast is followed by the word of.
(alongside): Abreast is followed by of.
(informed): Abreast is followed by of.
(up to a certain level): Abreast is followed by of.

Synonyms

(informed): apprised, informed, up to date, up-to-date

Derived terms

line abreast

Translations

side by side

Bulgarian: редом (bg) (redom), един до друг (edin do drug), на един ред (na edin red), рамо до рамо (ramo do ramo)
Catalan: ensems (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 並排 / 并排 (zh) (bìngpái)
Czech: bok po boku (cs), vedle sebe
Dutch: zij aan zij, naast elkaar
Finnish: rinnakkain (fi), vierekkäin (fi), vierivieressä
French: côte à côte (fr)
German: beieinander (de), nebeneinander (de), Seite an Seite
Irish: gualainn ar ghualainn
Italian: affiancato (it), di pari passo
Maori: upane
Polish: obok siebie
Portuguese: lado a lado
Russian: ^{(please verify)} в ряд (v rjad) , ^{(please verify)} на одно́й ли́нии (na odnój línii) , бок о́ бок (ru) (bok ó bok), ря́дом (ru) (rjádom)
Scots: abreest
Serbo-Croatian: uporedo (sh), rame uz rame
Spanish: de lado a lado
Turkish: yan yana (tr)

informed

Dutch: op de hoogte, bekend (nl), goed ingelicht, welingelicht (nl), met zijn tijd mee
Estonian: kursis
Finnish: tietoinen (fi), ajan tasalla
French: au courant (fr)
German: auf dem Laufenden
Greek: δίπλα-δίπλα (dípla-dípla)
Italian: aggiornato (it) m, aggiornata (it) f, al passo, al corrente
Polish: na bieżąco (pl)
Portuguese: bem informado
Russian: ^{(please verify)} в ку́рсе (v kúrse)
Spanish: al corriente (es)

nautical: side by side; also, opposite; over against; on a line with the vessel's beam

Finnish: kyljittäin
German: auf gleicher Höhe
Italian: al traverso
Russian: ^{(please verify)} на одно́й ли́нии (na odnój línii) , на тра́верзе (na tráverze), борт о́ борт (bort ó bort)

up to a certain level or line

Czech: na výši, na úrovni
Dutch: gelijke tred houdend, bijblijven (nl)
Finnish: tasalla
German: Schritt (de) (with halten), auf dem Laufenden (with bleiben), auf der Höhe (with bleiben)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Interlingua: (2) ^{(please verify)} in fila lateral
Vietnamese: ^{(please verify)} đi sóng hàng với nhau, ^{(please verify)} theo kịp thời đại

Adjective

abreast (not comparable)

Side by side, facing forward. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470.)]^[2]
(figurative) Alongside; parallel to. [First attested in the mid 17^th century.]^[2]
Informed, well-informed, familiar, acquainted. [First attested in the mid 17^th century.]^[2]
Up to a certain level or line; equally advanced [First attested in the mid 17^th century.]^[2]
to keep abreast of [or with] the present state of science
- c. 1900, Kate Chopin, A Reflection:
  Some people are born with a vital and responsive energy. It not only enables them to keep abreast of the times; it qualifies them to furnish in their own personality a good bit of the motive power to the mad pace.
(nautical) Side by side; also, opposite; over against; on a line with the vessel's beam. [First attested in the late 17^th century.]^[2]

Preposition

abreast

Abreast of; alongside.^[3]
This ship sank abreast the island.

References

“abreast”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
“abreast”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
“abreast, adv.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “abreast”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
↑ ^2.00 ^2.01 ^2.02 ^2.03 ^2.04 ^2.05 ^2.06 ^2.07 ^2.08 ^2.09 Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abreast”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 8.
^ Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], →ISBN), page 5

Anagrams

Baaster, Sabater, Tabares, abaters, bat ears, rabates

[oetyld-1] Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “abreast”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

[SOED-2] 2.00 ^2.01 ^2.02 ^2.03 ^2.04 ^2.05 ^2.06 ^2.07 ^2.08 ^2.09 Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abreast”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 8.

[3] Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], →ISBN), page 5

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