Jump To:

• Vesta
  Vesta

  noun

  the ancient Roman goddess of the hearth, worshiped in a temple containing an altar on which a sacred fire was kept burning by the vestal virgins: identified with the Greek Hestia.
• vesta
  vesta

  noun

  a short friction match, usually of wood

Vesta

American  

[ves-tuh] / ˈvɛs tə /

noun

1. Classical Mythology. the ancient Roman goddess of the hearth, worshiped in a temple containing an altar on which a sacred fire was kept burning by the vestal virgins: identified with the Greek Hestia.

2. Astronomy. the second largest and by far the brightest asteroid in our solar system, discovered in 1807 and located in the asteroid belt.

3. (lowercase) a short friction match with a wood or wax shank.

4. a female given name.

---

Vesta ¹ British  

/ ˈvɛstə /

noun

1. Greek counterpart: Hestia.  the Roman goddess of the hearth and its fire. In her temple a perpetual flame was tended by the vestal virgins

---

Vesta ² British  

/ ˈvɛstə /

noun

1. the brightest of the four largest asteroids. Diameter: about 530 km (240 miles)

---

vesta ³ British  

/ ˈvɛstə /

noun

1. a short friction match, usually of wood

---

Vesta Scientific  

/ vĕs′tə /

1. The brightest of all the asteroids and the fourth to be discovered, in 1807. It is the third largest, with a diameter of about 530 km (329 mi), and the only asteroid that can be seen without a telescope. Evidence of lava flows on its surface suggests that it once had a molten interior.

2. See more at asteroid

---

Vesta Cultural  

1. The Roman and Greek goddess of the hearth and home. Roman and Greek cities were supposed to have a public hearth dedicated to Vesta, at which the fire was kept constantly burning.

---

Etymology

Origin of Vesta

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin; possibly akin to Greek Hestía; possibly derivative of Latin ūrere “to burn”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Vesta vesta

Going all out, I once tried to go to a fancy-dress party as a Swan Vesta matchbox, wearing an elaborate cardboard contraption painted with a lot of time and effort.

From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2025

The day after the Palisades fire broke out, luxury staging company Vesta began manufacturing beds around the clock.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2025

At 500km long, the star is about the same size as Vesta - the second-largest asteroid in our solar system.

From BBC ● Feb. 29, 2024

One, Project Vesta, in 2022 spread an alkaline mineral called olivine on a Long Island beach to test whether that would result in more alkaline waters as waves wash the material out to sea.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 30, 2023

It is not certain that any really Greek statues of Hestia are in existence, although the Giustiniani Vesta in the Torlonia Museum is usually accepted as such.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various

Pretending to be him, I took my vesta case from my pocket, clunky and unfashionable compared to the slim brass one Yakov had worn suspended from his watch chain.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

In the corner of my eye, I watched him draw a match from his brass vesta case and light it with an unassuming flick of his fingers.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Drawing a match from his silver vesta case, Frankie lit the cigar.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

I lit a vesta match and held it beneath the wardrobe, that was raised above the carpet by about two inches, on turned feet, but I could see nothing more of the finger.

From A Book of Ghosts by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould

His kinsman was relighting his cheroot, which was burning badly, and in the flare of the vesta Helston could see the significant grin which was wreathing his lined, bronzed features; understood its burden too.

From The Heath Hover Mystery by Bertram Mitford