Abreast

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /əˈbɹɛst/

Definitions

1. Side by side and facing the same direction, or keeping up with current information or developments
2. Positioned next to one another while maintaining the same orientation, or remaining informed about recent events and advancements
3. In a side-by-side arrangement oriented in the same way, or having awareness of up-to-date information and trends

Etymology: The image here is literal: "abreast" is built from "a-" meaning "on" or "at" and "breast," so the original sense was about chests lined up side by side, roughly "breast-by-breast." Soldiers, horses or ships advancing in a line would have their chests level with one another, and the word captured that alignment before it came to describe people or things moving together in any way. The sense of keeping up with developments came later and grew naturally from the same idea. Someone who is "abreast of" a subject stays level with its latest news, as if walking alongside it rather than falling behind. The body part has long since dropped out of the picture, but the notion of being level with something remains the core of the word.