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Webster 1913 Edition

Invest

In-vest′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Invested
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Investing
.]
[L.
investire
,
investitum
; pref.
in-
in +
vestire
to clothe, fr.
vestis
clothing: cf. F.
investir
. See
Vest
.]
1.
To put garments on; to clothe; to dress; to array; – opposed to
divest
. Usually followed by with, sometimes by in;
as, to
invest
one with a robe
.
2.
To put on.
[Obs.]
Can not find one this girdle to
invest
.
Spenser.
3.
To clothe, as with office or authority; to place in possession of rank, dignity, or estate; to endow; to adorn; to grace; to bedeck;
as, to
invest
with honor or glory; to
invest
with an estate.
I do
invest
you jointly with my power.
Shakespeare
4.
To surround, accompany, or attend.
Awe such as must always
invest
the spectacle of the guilt.
Hawthorne.
5.
To confer; to give.
[R.]
It
investeth
a right of government.
Bacon.
6.
(Mil.)
To inclose; to surround or hem in with troops, so as to intercept reinforcements of men and provisions and prevent escape; to lay siege to;
as, to
invest
a town
.
7.
To lay out (money or capital) in business with the view of obtaining an income or profit;
as, to
invest
money in bank stock
.

In-vest′

,
Verb.
I.
To make an investment;
as, to
invest
in stocks
; – usually followed by in.

Webster 1828 Edition

Invest

INVEST'

,
Verb.
T.
[L. investio; in and vestio, to clothe. See Vest.]
1.
To clothe; to dress; to put garments on; to array; usually and most correctly followed by with, before the thing put on; as, to invest one with a mantle or robe. In this sense, it is used chiefly in poetry and elevated prose, not in colloquial discourse.
2.
To clothe with office or authority; to place in possession of an office, rank or dignity; as, to invest a person with a civil office, or with an ecclesiastical dignity.
3.
To adorn; to grace; as, to invest with honor.
4.
To clothe; to surround; as, to be invested with light, splendor or glory.
5.
To confer; to give. [Little used.]
6.
To inclose; to surround; to block up, so as to intercept succors of men and provisions and prevent escape; to lay siege to; as, to invest a town.
7.
To clothe money in something permanent or less fleeting; as, to invest money in funded or bank stock; to invest it in lands or goods. In this application, it is always followed by in.

Definition 2024

invest

invest

English

Verb

invest ‎(third-person singular simple present invests, present participle investing, simple past and past participle invested)

  1. To spend money, time, or energy on something, especially for some benefit or purpose; used with in.
    We'd like to thank all the contributors who have invested countless hours into this event.
  2. (dated) To clothe or wrap (with garments).
    • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick:
      He was but shabbily apparelled in faded jacket and patched trowsers; a rag of a black handkerchief investing his neck.
  3. (obsolete) To put on (clothing).
    • Spenser
      cannot find one this girdle to invest
  4. To envelop, wrap, cover.
    • 1667: Night / Invests the Sea, and wished Morn delayes — John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 1, ll. 207-8
  5. To commit money or capital in the hope of financial gain.
  6. To ceremonially install someone in some office.
  7. To formally give (someone) some power or authority.
    • Shakespeare
      I do invest you jointly with my power.
  8. To formally give (power or authority).
    • Francis Bacon
      It investeth a right of government.
  9. To surround, accompany, or attend.
    • Hawthorne
      awe such as must always invest the spectacle of the guilt
  10. To lay siege to.
    to invest a town
  11. (intransitive) To make investments.
  12. (metallurgy) To prepare for lost wax casting by creating an investment mold (a mixture of a silica sand and plaster).
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From investigate, by shortening

Noun

invest ‎(plural invests)

  1. (meteorology) An unnamed tropical weather pattern "to investigate" for development into a significant (named) system.

Anagrams

Etymology

From French investir, from Latin investio ‎(“to clothe, cover”), from in- ‎(“in, on”) + vestio ‎(“to clothe, dress”), from vestis ‎(“clothing”); see vest.

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /ɪnˈvɛst/
  • Rhymes: -ɛst

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