chest one's cards
chest one's cards · chests one's cards · chested one's cards · chesting one's cards
To hold one's hand close to one's chest so that other players cannot see the cardsTo hold one's hand close to one's chest so that other players cannot see the cards.
Meaning
2 sensesTo hold one's hand close to one's chest so that other players cannot see the cards.
(broadly, figuratively)To be careful and reticent about sharing information about one's resources and intentions.
Forms
chests one's cards, chesting one's cards, chested one's cards, chested one's cardsirregular
| Base form | chest one's cards · to chest one's cards |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | chests one's cards |
| Present participle | chesting one's cards |
| Past simple | chested one's cards |
| Past participle | chested one's cards |
Tenses
chest one's cards · chested one's cards · will chest one's cards · have chested one's cardsPoint at a form to see it in a sentence.Tap a form to see it in a sentence.
Synonyms
6 synonymsTo hold one's hand close to one's chest so that other…:keep one's cards close to one's chesthold one's cards close to one's chestplay one's cards close to one's chestkeep one's cards close to one's vesthold one's cards close to one's vestplay one's cards close to one's vest
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.