3 uses
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Definition
rear in various senses. It is most commonly used today in the phrase breech birth in reference to a baby who comes out of the birth canal butt-first rather than head-first. More-archaic senses seen in classic literature include:
- breechcloth — a form of loincloth consisting in a strip of material passed between the thighs and held up in front and behind by a belt or string
- breeches — pants
- a cannon's breech — the rear of a gun
- Rinaldi took the note, folded it without rising from the bed and slid it in his breeches pocket.Book One (13% in)
- Later I slept on the floor of the corridor; first putting my pocketbook with my money and papers in it inside my shirt and trousers so that it was inside the leg of my breeches.Book Two (**% in)
- I stood up, took off the breeches and pulled off the kneebrace.Book Three (5% in)
There are no more uses of "breech" in A Farewell to Arms.
Typical Usage
(best examples)