From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishchestnutchest‧nut1 /ˈtʃesnʌt/ noun 1 [countable]HBPDFC a smooth red-brown nut that you can eat roast chestnuts2 (also chestnut tree) [countable]HBP the tree on which this nut grows3 [uncountable]CC a red-brown colour4 [countable]HBA a horse that is red-brown in colour5 → an old chestnut6 [countable]HBP a horse chestnut → water chestnut
Examples from the Corpus
chestnut• High above, curved oak, spruce and chestnut grew beside giant magnolias.• Already, two mature horse chestnuts had been felled.• There's a big house at the end of an avenue of chestnuts.• I wave some smoke away and ask if he's selling roast chestnuts.• In the embers of the fire, David again roasted chestnuts for the now sunny-tempered Josh, until his bedtime.• He got up in his night-shirt and looked incredulously out at the twigs of the stately chestnut tree in front of the castle.• The chestnuts must be peeled first, which is a little time consuming but worth the effort.chestnutchestnut2 adjective CCred-brown in colour her chestnut hairExamples from the Corpus
chestnut• The chestnut colt stuck its head in through the open window to lick her hand with its warm tongue.• Her face was framed by chestnut curls.Origin chestnut1 (1500-1600) chesten “chestnut tree” ((14-17 centuries)) (from Old French chasteigne, from Latin castanea, from Greek kastanea) + nut 