vested

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.

British. an undervest or undershirt.

a long garment resembling a cassock, worn by men in the time of Charles II.

Archaic.

dress; apparel.

an outer garment, robe, or gown.

an ecclesiastical vestment.

verb (used with object)

to clothe; dress; robe.

to dress in ecclesiastical vestments: to vest a bishop.

10.

to cover or drape (an altar).

11.

to place or settle (something, especially property, rights, powers, etc.) in the possession or control of someone (usually followed 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.

verb (used without object)

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.

Idioms

16.

play it close to the vest, Informal. to avoid taking unnecessary risks.

Origin:
1375–1425; (noun) late Middle English < Italian veste robe, dress < Latin vestis garment; (v.) late Middle English < Middle French vestir < Latin vestīre to clothe, derivative of vestis; akin to wear

Related forms

vest·less, adjective

vest·like, adjective

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To vested

Collins

World English Dictionary

vest (vɛst)

—n
1.	T-shirt, US and Canadian equivalent: undershirt, Austral equivalent: singlet an undergarment covering the body from the shoulders to the hips, made of cotton, nylon, etc
2.	Austral equivalent: singlet a similar sleeveless garment worn as outerwear
3.	(US), (Canadian), (Austral) Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): waistcoat a man's sleeveless waistlength garment worn under a suit jacket, usually buttoning up the front
4.	obsolete any form of dress, esp a long robe

—vb (foll by in) (foll by with)
5.	to place or settle (power, rights, etc, in): power was vested in the committee
6.	to bestow or confer (on): the company was vested with authority
7.	(usually foll by in) to confer (a right, title, property, etc, upon) or (of a right, title, etc) to pass (to) or devolve (upon)
8.	(tr) to clothe or array
9.	(intr) to put on clothes, ecclesiastical vestments, etc

[C15: from Old French vestir to clothe, from Latin vestīre, from vestis clothing]

'vestless

—*adj*

'vestlike

—*adj*

vested (ˈvɛstɪd)

—*adj*
	property law Compare contingent having a present right to the immediate or future possession and enjoyment of property

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

vest

c.1425, "to put in possession of a person," from M.Fr. vestir, from M.L. vestire "to put into possession, to invest," from L. vestire "to clothe," related to vestis "garment, clothing," from PIE *wes- "to clothe" (see wear). Vested "established, secured, settled" is attested from 1766.

vest

1613, "loose outer garment" (worn by men in Eastern countries or in ancient times), from Fr. veste, from It. vesta, veste "robe, gown," from L. vestis, from vestire "to clothe" (see vest (v.)). The sleeveless garment worn by men beneath the coat was introduced by Charles II.

"The King hath yesterday, in Council, declared his resolution of setting a fashion for clothes .... It will be a vest, I know not well how; but it is to teach the nobility thrift." [Pepys, "Diary," Oct. 8, 1666]

Slang Dictionary

vest definition

n.
an important businessman or businesswoman. (See also suit.) : Some vest jumped out the window this afternoon.
n.
a bullet-proof vest. : The cop wasn't wearing a vest, and the shot killed him.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

Example sentences

He also had a vested interest in keeping the ever-vanishing hired help.

Grateful patients make unofficial payments to their doctors, who have a vested

interest in stressing their essential role.

The newspaper editorialists who call for campaign-finance reform, he says, are

driven by a vested interest.

Trying to push up house prices benefits stagnant vested interests at the

expense of the consumer.

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Matching Quote

"I am more and more convinced that man is a dangerous creature; and that power, whether vested in many or a few, is ever grasping, and, like the grave, cries, "Give, give!" The great fish swallow up the small; and he who is most strenuous for the rights of the people, when vested with power, is as eager after the prerogatives of government. You tell me of degrees of perfection to which human nature is capable of arriving, and I believe it, but at the same time lament that our admiration should arise from the scarcity of the instances."

-Abigail Adams