Dictionary

vest en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /vɛst/
• (US) audio

Etymology

Derived from French veste (“a vest, jacket”), from Latin vestis (“a garment, gown, robe, vestment, clothing, vesture”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéstis, from *wes- (“to be dressed”) (English wear). Cognate with Sanskrit वस्त्र (vastra) and Spanish vestir.

Meanings

1. (Canada, US) A sleeveless garment that buttons down the front, worn over a shirt, and often as part of a suit; a waistcoat.
   • The Jones man was looking at her hard. Now he reached into the hatch of his vest and fetched out a couple of cigars, everlasting big ones, with gilt bands on them. 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter X, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
2. (UK) A sleeveless garment, often with a low-cut neck, usually worn under a shirt or blouse.
3. A sleeveless top, typically with identifying colours or logos, worn by an athlete or member of a sports team.
4. Any sleeveless outer garment, often for a purpose such as identification, safety, or storage.
   • He gripped some of the shreds and pulled off his vest and the shirt beneath it, his clothing disintegrating around him. What in the hell point was there in wearing a twenty-five-pound bulletproof vest if you could still get gunned to death? 2010, Thomas Mullen, The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers, Random House, →ISBN, page 162:
5. A vestment.
   • In state attended by her maiden train, / Who bore the vests that holy rites require. 1700, John Dryden, Palamon and Arcite:
6. Clothing generally; array; garb.
   • Not seldom, clad in radiant vest / Deceitfully goes forth the morn. 1800, William Wordsworth, [unnamed poem] (classified under Inscriptions)
7. (archaic) A loose robe or outer garment worn historically by men in Arab or Middle Eastern countries.

Forms

Deriveds

vestock · undervest · sobre-vest · vestee · bulletproof vest · ranger vest · weighted vest · close to the vest · stabvest · yellow vest · life vest · Posey vest · vestlet · string vest · vest-pocket · rash vest · vestless · close to one's vest · vestlike · more life in a tramp's vest · vest date · tech vest · vest pocket · keep one's cards close to one's vest · unvest · vest in interest · sleeves from one's vest · suicide vest · rest and vest · ballistic vest · sweater vest · vest buster · lifevest

Hyponyms

scrimmage vest (sleeveless outergarment) · fishing vest (sleeveless outergarment) · safety vest (sleeveless outergarment)

Relateds

invest · wear · vestment · vest frottoir · vestibule · vesture

Synonyms

tank top · undershirt · waistcoat · singlet

Translations (110)

vi gi-lê (garment worn over a shirt) · pt regata (garment worn under a shirt) · pl bezrękawnik (garment worn over a shirt) · gsw Liibli (garment worn under a shirt) · fi liivi (any sleeveless outer garment) · nl vest (garment worn over a shirt) · mt flokk ta’ taħt (garment worn under a shirt) · tr yelek (garment worn over a shirt) · tt көрти (garment worn over a shirt) · cs tílko (garment worn under a shirt) · cmn 背心 (garment worn over a shirt) · mk до́лна ма́ица (garment worn under a shirt) · sq jelek (garment worn over a shirt) · sk vesta (garment worn over a shirt) · it corpetto (garment worn over a shirt) · ru безрука́вка (garment worn over a shirt) · it giubbotto (any sleeveless outer garment) · es chaleco (garment worn over a shirt) · fr tricot de corps (garment worn under a shirt) · de Gilet (garment worn over a shirt) · ka პერანგი (garment worn under a shirt) · fi turvaliivi (any sleeveless outer garment) · pl kamizelka (garment worn over a shirt) · mk е́лек (garment worn over a shirt) · mt sidrija (garment worn over a shirt) · fi huomioliivi (any sleeveless outer garment) · uk жиле́т (garment worn over a shirt) · fi tunnusliivi (sleeveless top with identifying colours or logos) · cs nátělník (garment worn under a shirt) · it giubbetto (any sleeveless outer garment) · ka ჟილეტი (garment worn over a shirt) · ru жиле́тка (garment worn over a shirt) · nb trøye (garment worn under a shirt) · ru жиле́т (garment worn over a shirt) · yue 背心 (garment worn under a shirt) · ca armilla (garment worn over a shirt) · ka მაისური (garment worn under a shirt) · ja ベスト (garment worn over a shirt) · kk нымша (any sleeveless outer garment) · cs vesta (garment worn over a shirt) · ast xilecu (garment worn over a shirt) · hu mellény (garment worn over a shirt) · it giacchetta (any sleeveless outer garment) · arz چيليه (garment worn over a shirt) · sh pr̀sluk (garment worn over a shirt) · is vesti (garment worn over a shirt) · hy ժիլետ (garment worn over a shirt) · pl podkoszulek (garment worn under a shirt) · de Weste (garment worn over a shirt) · ca samarreta (garment worn under a shirt) · cmn 馬甲 /马甲 (any sleeveless outer garment) · ja チョッキ (garment worn over a shirt) · id rompi (garment worn over a shirt) · mi kahutumu (any sleeveless outer garment) · nn trøye (garment worn under a shirt) · ale ziilitax̂ (garment worn over a shirt) · cmn 坎肩 (garment worn over a shirt) · it gilè (garment worn over a shirt) · bg жиле́тка (garment worn over a shirt) · ko 조끼 (garment worn over a shirt) · kmr êlek (garment worn over a shirt) · it canottiera (garment worn under a shirt) · de übergeben (confer/give property or power) · id singlet (garment worn under a shirt) · esu silin (garment worn over a shirt) · az jilet (garment worn over a shirt) · ru ма́йка (garment worn under a shirt) · eo veŝto (garment worn over a shirt) · ru безрука́вка (any sleeveless outer garment) · sv linne (garment worn under a shirt) · ms singlet (garment worn under a shirt) · el γιλέκο (garment worn over a shirt) · de Unterhemd (garment worn under a shirt) · ru жиле́т (any sleeveless outer garment) · es camiseta de tirantes (garment worn under a shirt) · bg фланелка (garment worn under a shirt) · sv väst (garment worn over a shirt) · eo subĉemizo (garment worn under a shirt) · acw سديري (garment worn over a shirt) · be камізэ́лька (garment worn over a shirt) · nan-hbl 䘥仔 (any sleeveless outer garment) · it giubbino (any sleeveless outer garment) · nv chaléego (garment worn over a shirt) · it casacca (sleeveless top with identifying colours or logos) · fi aluspaita (garment worn under a shirt) · vo jilät (garment worn over a shirt) · fi liivi (sleeveless top with identifying colours or logos) · ru ма́йка (sleeveless top with identifying colours or logos) · fr gilet (garment worn over a shirt) · vi áo gi lê (garment worn over a shirt) · el φανέλα (garment worn under a shirt) · ar صُدَيْرِيّ (garment worn under a shirt) · is nærbolur (garment worn under a shirt) · pt colete (garment worn over a shirt) · ca samarreta (sleeveless top with identifying colours or logos) · it panciotto (garment worn over a shirt) · kmr çoxik (garment worn over a shirt) · it investitura (confer/give property or power) · gd fo-lèine (garment worn under a shirt) · sh пр̀слук (garment worn over a shirt) · de verleihen (confer/give property or power) · mk потко́шула (garment worn under a shirt) · pl podkoszulka (garment worn under a shirt) · ga veist (garment worn over a shirt) · pdt Wast (garment worn over a shirt) · it canottiera (sleeveless top with identifying colours or logos) · mi hingareti (garment worn under a shirt) · fa ژیلت (garment worn over a shirt) · fi liivi (garment worn over a shirt) · hu trikó (garment worn under a shirt)

vest en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /vɛst/
• (US) audio

Etymology

Derived from French veste (“a vest, jacket”), from Latin vestis (“a garment, gown, robe, vestment, clothing, vesture”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéstis, from *wes- (“to be dressed”) (English wear). Cognate with Sanskrit वस्त्र (vastra) and Spanish vestir.

Meanings

1. (passive) 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. 1673, John Milton, Methought I Saw my Late Espoused Saint:
   • With ether vested, and a purple sky. 1697, John Dryden, Aeneid:
2. To clothe with authority, power, etc.; to put in possession; to invest; to furnish; to endow; followed by with and the thing conferred.
   • Had thy poor breast receiv’d an equal pain; / Had I been vested with the monarch’s power; / Thou must have sigh’d, unlucky youth, in vain; / Nor from my bounty hadst thou found a cure. c. 1718, Matthew Prior, To Mr. Howard - An Ode:
   • to vest a court with power to try cases of life and death
3. To place or give into the possession or discretion of some person or authority; to commit to another; with in before the possessor.
   • , Book I Empire and dominion […] was vested in him.
   • The power of life and death is vested in the king, or in the courts.
4. To clothe with possession; also, to give a person an immediate fixed right of present or future enjoyment of.
   • an estate is vested in possession
   • to vest a person with an estate
   • For the right of the crown vests[…]upon his heir. 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:
5. (intransitive) (of an inheritance or a trust fund) To devolve upon the person currently entitled when a prior interest has ended.
   • Upon the death of the Sovereign the Crown automatically vests in the next heir without the need of coronation or other formality.
6. (intransitive) To become vested, to become permanent.
   • If you doubt that you'll stick around at the company long enough for your options to vest, you should discount the value for that uncertainty as well. 2005, Kaye A. Thomas, Consider Your Options, page 104:
   • They were, they said tipsily, essentially being paid to do nothing while earning out — or “vesting” — their stock grants. “Rest and vest,” the techies said, in between sips of beer. 2025 August 4, Mike Isaac, “A.I. Has Ushered in Silicon Valley’s ‘Hard Tech’ Era”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 04 Aug 2025:
   • My pension vests at the end of the month and then I can take it with me when I quit.
   • 2007, Ransey Guy Cole, Jr. (United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit), Roger Miller Music, Inc. v. Sony ATV Publishing, LLC Sony interpreted 17 U.S.C. § 304 as requiring that the author be alive at the start of the copyright renewal term for the author’s prior assignments to vest.
7. (obsolete) To invest; to put.
   • to vest money in goods, land, or houses

Forms