divest
Americanverb (used with object)
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to strip of clothing, ornament, etc..
The wind divested the trees of their leaves.
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to strip or deprive (someone or something), especially of property or rights; dispossess.
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to rid of or free from.
He divested himself of all responsibility for the decision.
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Law. to take away or alienate (property, rights, etc.).
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Commerce.
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to sell off.
to divest holdings.
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to rid of through sale.
The corporation divested itself of its subsidiaries.
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verb
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to strip (of clothes)
to divest oneself of one's coat
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to deprive or dispossess
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property law to take away an estate or interest in property vested (in a person)
Related Words
See strip 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of divest
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Medieval Latin dīvestīre, equivalent to dī- di- 2 + vestīre “to dress”; see vest
Explanation
It could be your wine portfolio, your stake in a mining company, or even the extra coats that are taking up space in your closet. Whatever it is, when you divest something, you get rid of it. Divest is sort of a fancy way to say “dispose of.” It’s often used in a business context to describe companies or governments that divest some of their holdings by selling them off. It can also be used in the sense of taking something away from someone. For example if your boss becomes insane and power mad, his handlers may divest him of his title, meaning his position is taken away from him.
Vocabulary lists containing divest
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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Good Riddance
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Members of CalSTRS Divest say that such investments conflict with the fund’s own stated policies, which consider whether a company or industry makes a product that is highly detrimental to human health.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026
"Law enforcement simply stood at the edge of the lawn and refused to budge as we screamed for their help," UC Divest at LA, a group involved in the encampment, said in a statement.
From BBC • May 1, 2024
“We’re doing something that will be much harder to ignore here,” said Peter Scott, a junior at MIT who is a co-leader of MIT Divest.
From Washington Post • Feb. 16, 2022
This mission was also primarily driven by Harvard’s students; campus group Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard employed moves from meeting directly with administrators to storming the field during the annual football game against Yale.
From Slate • Jan. 24, 2022
Divest the speech," said he, "of its official forms, and what was its purport?
From The Impeachment of The House of Brunswick by Bradlaugh, Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
