vest Meaning, Definition & Usage

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

WordNet

Vest noun
Etymology
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.
Definitions
  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. -- 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.
Vest transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. L. vestire, vestitum, OF. vestir, F. vêtir. See Vest, n.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Vested; present participle & verbal noun Vesting
Definitions
  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.
Vest intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. 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.

Webster 1913