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invest

[in-vest]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to put (money) to use, by purchase or expenditure, in something offering potential profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.
  2. to use (money), as in accumulating something: to invest large sums in books.
  3. to use, give, or devote (time, talent, etc.), as for a purpose or to achieve something: He invested a lot of time in helping retarded children.
  4. to furnish with power, authority, rank, etc.: The Constitution invests the president with the power of veto.
  5. to furnish or endow with a power, right, etc.; vest: Feudalism invested the lords with absolute authority over their vassals.
  6. to endow with a quality or characteristic: to invest a friend with every virtue.
  7. to infuse or belong to, as a quality or characteristic: Goodness invests his every action.
  8. Metallurgy. to surround (a pattern) with an investment.
  9. to provide with the insignia of office.
  10. to install in an office or position.
  11. to clothe, attire, or dress.
  12. to cover, adorn, or envelop: Spring invests the trees with leaves.
  13. to surround (a place) with military forces or works so as to prevent approach or escape; besiege.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to invest money; make an investment: to invest in oil stock.
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Origin of invest

1525–35; < Medieval Latin investīre to install, invest (money), surround, clothe in, Latin: to clothe in, equivalent to in- in-2 + vestīre to clothe, derivative of vestis garment; see vest
Related formsin·ves·tor, nounnon·in·ves·tor, nouno·ver·in·vest, verbpre·in·vest, verb (used with object)re·in·vest, verb (used with object)un·der·in·vest, verb (used without object)un·der·in·vest·ed, adjectiveun·in·vest·ed, adjectivewell-in·vest·ed, adjective
Can be confusedinfect infest invest
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

providedevotesupplyspendlendadoptestablishinstallendueadvanceplungeloanstakebackbankrollsinkinfuseentrustendowimbue

Examples from the Web for invest

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I have large sums of my own to invest, and it is no extra trouble to look after your money.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

  • To make sure of success and the size of his stakes he was willing to invest heavily.

  • You are determined to invest these savings of yours in the common stock, are you?'

  • Pepsy had no money invested in their unprofitable enterprise, for she had no money to invest.

    Pee-wee Harris

    Percy Keese Fitzhugh

  • I said to myself, 'I will invest my time in bringing up my children.'

    The Mystery of Murray Davenport

    Robert Neilson Stephens

British Dictionary definitions for invest

invest

verb
  1. (often foll by in) to lay out (money or capital in an enterprise, esp by purchasing shares) with the expectation of profit
  2. (tr often foll by in) to devote (effort, resources, etc, to a project)
  3. (tr; often foll by in or with) mainly archaic to clothe or adorn (in some garment, esp the robes of an office)to invest a king in the insignia of an emperor
  4. (tr often foll by in) to install formally or ceremoniously (in an official position, rank, etc)
  5. (tr; foll by in or with) to place (power, authority, etc, in) or provide (with power or authority)to invest new rights in the monarchy
  6. (tr; usually passive; foll by in or with) to provide or endow (a person with qualities, characteristics, etc)he was invested with great common sense
  7. (tr foll by with) usually poetic to cover or adorn, as if with a coat or garmentwhen spring invests the trees with leaves
  8. (tr) rare to surround with military forces; besiege
  9. (intr foll by in) informal to purchase; buy
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Derived Formsinvestable or investible, adjectiveinvestor, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Medieval Latin investīre to clothe, from Latin, from vestīre, from vestis a garment
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for invest

v.

late 14c., "to clothe in the official robes of an office," from Latin investire "to clothe in, cover, surround," from in "in, into" (see in- (2)) + vestire "to dress, clothe" (see wear). The meaning "use money to produce profit" first attested 1610s in connection with the East Indies trade, and is probably a borrowing of Italian investire (13c.) from the same Latin root, via the notion of giving one's capital a new form. The military meaning "to besiege" is from c.1600. Related: Invested; investing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper