Adjacent Words

Vest definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

VEST, n. [L. vestis, a coat or garment; vestio, to cover or clothe.]
1. An outer garment.
Over his lucid arms a military vest of purple flow'd.
2. In common speech, a man's under garment; a short garment covering the body, but without sleeves, worn under the coat; called also waistcoat.
VEST, v.t.
1. To clothe; to cover, surround or encompass closely.
With ether vested and a purple sky.
2. To dress; to clothe with a long garment; as the vested priest.
To vest with, to clothe; to furnish with; to invest with; as, to vest a man with authority; to vest a court with power to try cases of life and death; to vest one with the right of seizing slave ships.
Had I been vested with the monarch's pow'r.
To vest in, to put in possession of; to furnish with; to clothe with. The supreme executive power in England is vested in the king; in the United States, it is vested in the president.
2. To clothe with another form; to convert into another substance or species of property; as, to vest money in goods; to vest money in land or houses; to vest money in bank stock, or in six per cent stock; to vest all one's property in the public funds.
VEST, v.i. To come or descend to; to be fixed; to take effect, as a title or right. Upon the death of the ancestor, the estate, or the right to the estate, vests in the heir at law.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a man's sleeveless garment worn underneath a coat [syn: vest, waistcoat]
2: a collarless men's undergarment for the upper part of the body [syn: singlet, vest, undershirt] v
1: provide with power and authority; "They vested the council with special rights" [syn: invest, vest, enthrone] [ant: disinvest, divest]
2: place (authority, property, or rights) in the control of a person or group of persons; "She vested her vast fortune in her two sons"
3: become legally vested; "The property vests in the trustees"
4: clothe oneself in ecclesiastical garments
5: clothe formally; especially in ecclesiastical robes [syn: vest, robe]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French vestir to clothe, invest, vest, from Latin vestire to clothe, from vestis clothing, garment — more at wear Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. a. to place or give into the possession or discretion of some person or authority; especially to give to a person a legally fixed immediate right of present or future enjoyment of (as an estate) b. to grant or endow with a particular authority, right, or property <the plan vests workers with pension benefits after 10 years of service> 2. to clothe with or as if with a garment; especially to robe in ecclesiastical vestments intransitive verb 1. to become legally vested 2. to put on garments; especially to put on ecclesiastical vestments II. noun Etymology: French veste, from Italian, from Latin vestis garment Date: 1613 1. archaic a. a loose outer garment ; robe b. clothing, garb 2. a. a sleeveless garment for the upper body usually worn over a shirt b. a protective usually sleeveless garment (as a life preserver) that extends to the waist c. an insulated sleeveless waist-length garment often worn under or in place of a coat 3. a. chiefly British a man's sleeveless undershirt b. a knitted undershirt for women 4. a plain or decorative piece used to fill in the front neckline of a woman's outer garment (as a blouse or dress) • vestlike adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 an undergarment worn on the upper part of the body. 2 US & Austral. a waistcoat. 3 a usu. V-shaped piece of material to fill the opening at the neck of a woman's dress. --v. 1 tr. (esp. in passive; foll. by with) bestow or confer (powers, authority, etc.) on (a person). 2 tr. (foll. by in) confer (property or power) on (a person) with an immediate fixed right of immediate or future possession. 3 intr. (foll. by in) (of property, a right, etc.) come into the possession of (a person). 4 a tr. poet. clothe. b intr. Eccl. put on vestments. Phrases and idioms: vested interest 1 Law an interest (usu. in land or money held in trust) recognized as belonging to a person. 2 a personal interest in a state of affairs, usu. with an expectation of gain. Etymology: (n.) F veste f. It. veste f. L vestis garment: (v.) ME, orig. past part. f. OF vestu f. vestir f. L vestire vestit- clothe

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Vest Vest, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vested; p. pr. & vb. n. Vesting.] [Cf. L. vestire, vestitum, OF. vestir, F. v[^e]tir. See Vest, n.] 1. To clothe with, or as with, a vestment, or garment; to dress; to robe; to cover, surround, or encompass closely. Came vested all in white, pure as her mind. --Milton. With ether vested, and a purple sky. --Dryden. 2. To clothe with authority, power, or the like; to put in possession; to invest; to furnish; to endow; -- followed by with before the thing conferred; as, to vest a court with power to try cases of life and death. Had I been vested with the monarch's power. --Prior. 3. To place or give into the possession or discretion of some person or authority; to commit to another; -- with in before the possessor; as, the power of life and death is vested in the king, or in the courts. Empire and dominion was [were] vested in him. --Locke. 4. To invest; to put; as, to vest money in goods, land, or houses. [R.] 5. (Law) To clothe with possession; as, to vest a person with an estate; also, to give a person an immediate fixed right of present or future enjoyment of; as, an estate is vested in possession. --Bouvier.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Vest Vest, n. [L. vestis a garment, vesture; akin to Goth. wasti, and E. wear: cf. F. veste. See Wear to carry on the person, and cf. Divest, Invest, Travesty.] 1. An article of clothing covering the person; an outer garment; a vestment; a dress; a vesture; a robe. In state attended by her maiden train, Who bore the vests that holy rites require. --Dryden. 2. Any outer covering; array; garb. Not seldom clothed in radiant vest Deceitfully goes forth the morn. --Wordsworth. 3. Specifically, a waistcoat, or sleeveless body garment, for men, worn under the coat. Syn: Garment; vesture; dress; robe; vestment; waistcoat. Usage: Vest, Waistcoat. In England, the original word waistcoat is generally used for the body garment worn over the shirt and immediately under the coat. In the United States this garment is commonly called a vest, and the waistcoat is often improperly given to an under-garment.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Vest Vest, v. i. To come or descend; to be fixed; to take effect, as a title or right; -- followed by in; as, upon the death of the ancestor, the estate, or the right to the estate, vests in the heir at law.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(vests, vesting, vested) 1. A vest is a piece of underwear which you can wear on the top half of your body in order to keep warm. (BRIT; in AM, use undershirt) N-COUNT 2. A vest is a sleeveless piece of clothing with buttons which people usually wear over a shirt. (AM; in BRIT, use waistcoat) N-COUNT 3. If something is vested in you, or if you are vested with it, it is given to you as a right or responsibility. (FORMAL) All authority was vested in the woman, who discharged every kind of public duty... The mass media have been vested with significant power as social and political agents in modern developed societies... There's an extraordinary amount of power vested in us. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed in n, be V-ed with n, V-ed

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Vesture, garment, vestment, robe, dress. 2. Waistcoat (for men). II. v. a. 1. Clothe, dress, surround, robe, enrobe, envelop, cover. 2. Endow, furnish, put in possession. 3. (Law.) Clothe with possession.

Foolish Dictionary

A waistcoat sold at halfprice.

Moby Thesaurus

appertain, appertain to, authorize, base, belong to, bless with, build, build in, dower, empower, endow, endow with, establish, favor with, fix, found, grace with, ground, install, invest, lay the foundation, pertain, pertain to, pitch, plant, put in, put up, seat, set, set up, settle on, settle upon, vest in, vest with, waistcoat