[vest] 
| 1. | a close-fitting, waist-length, sleeveless garment that buttons down the front, designed to be worn under a jacket. |
| 2. | a part or trimming simulating the front of such a garment; vestee. Compare dickey 1 (def. 1). |
| 3. | a waist-length garment worn for protective purposes: a bulletproof vest. |
| 4. | a sleeveless, waist- or hip-length garment made of various materials, with a front opening usually secured by buttons, a zipper, or the like, worn over a shirt, blouse, dress, or other article for style or warmth: a sweater vest; a down vest. |
| 5. | British. an undervest or undershirt. |
| 6. | a long garment resembling a cassock, worn by men in the time of Charles II. |
| 7. | Archaic.
|
| 8. | to clothe; dress; robe. |
| 9. | to dress in ecclesiastical vestments: to vest a bishop. |
| 10. | to cover or drape (an altar). |
| 11. | to place or settle (something, esp. property, rights, powers, etc.) in the possession or control of someone (usually fol. by in): to vest authority in a new official. |
| 12. | to invest or endow (a person, group, committee, etc.) with something, as powers, functions, or rights: to vest the board with power to increase production; to vest an employee with full benefits in the pension plan. |
| 13. | to put on vestments. |
| 14. | to become vested in a person, as a right. |
| 15. | to devolve upon a person as possessor; pass into possession or ownership. |
| 16. | play it close to the vest, Informal. to avoid taking unnecessary risks. |
