Synonyms

invest

American

[in-vest] / ɪnˈvɛst /

verb (used with object)

to put (money) to use, by purchase or expenditure, in something offering potential profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.
to use (money), as in accumulating something.

to invest large sums in books.
to use, give, or devote (time, talent, etc.), as for a purpose or to achieve something.

He invested a lot of time in cleaning up the neighborhood after the flood.
to furnish with power, authority, rank, etc..

The Constitution invests the president with the power of veto.
to furnish or endow with a power, right, etc.; vest.

Feudalism invested the lords with absolute authority over their vassals.
to endow with a quality or characteristic.

to invest a friend with every virtue.
to infuse or belong to, as a quality or characteristic.

Goodness invests his every action.
Metallurgy. to surround (a pattern) with an investment.
to provide with the insignia of office.
to install in an office or position.
to clothe, attire, or dress.
to cover, adorn, or envelop.

Spring invests the trees with leaves.
to surround (a place) with military forces or works so as to prevent approach or escape; besiege.

verb (used without object)

to invest money; make an investment.

to invest in oil stock.

invest British

/ ɪnˈvɛst /

verb

(often foll by in) to lay out (money or capital in an enterprise, esp by purchasing shares) with the expectation of profit
to devote (effort, resources, etc, to a project)
archaic (tr; often foll by in or with) to clothe or adorn (in some garment, esp the robes of an office)

to invest a king in the insignia of an emperor
to install formally or ceremoniously (in an official position, rank, etc)
(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
(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
poetic to cover or adorn, as if with a coat or garment

when spring invests the trees with leaves
rare (tr) to surround with military forces; besiege
informal to purchase; buy

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of invest

First recorded in 1525–35; from Old Italian investire, from Medieval Latin investīre “to install, invest (money), surround, clothe in,” Latin: “to clothe, deck, adorn,” equivalent to in- prefix + vestīre “to clothe, dress,” derivative of vestis “clothes, garment”; see in- ², vest

Explanation

When you invest, you put time or money into something, hoping that there will be returns greater than what was originally put in. You commonly hear talk of investing money, but you can invest time in a project as well. You can invest your hopes or emotions in a person. The money, time, or hope is called the investment. Invest can also mean to endow with a power or quality. Laws invest police officers with abilities that regular citizens do not have. Invest originally meant to clothe. In fact, there is a room in some churches still called a vestry where priests get into their garb.

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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.

See Examples For:

invest invests invested investing

Several funds backed by Chinese local government vehicles are also planning to invest, some of the people said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Given that he admits he has "no experience" in robotics, I question why he would want to invest in such a dicey business.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

The Space Force budget request for fiscal 2027 included $2.2 billion to invest in launch infrastructure.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

Halley said he plans to invest $2 million to $6 million into the facility, including additional staff and LED volume walls.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

Only the wealthiest of humans could compete, once they had a contract for vuvv tech, once they could invest in vuvv firms.

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson

The buyers: former Disney chief executive Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner, whose Thrive Eternal venture capital firm invests in sports and owns a share of the San Francisco Giants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Addressing common criticisms, he pledged to keep electricity prices low by building its own energy-generating infrastructure wherever Meta invests and to restore more water than it uses in the watersheds it operates by 2030.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

For every dollar it takes in, SpaceX invests nearly two, both in its data centers and in Starship, its mega-rocket still in testing and on which a large part of the whole business depends.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

It projected slower revenue growth as it invests in AI and focuses on platform safety.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

I just finished a draft essay about my career dream: a fair-trade company that invests in and designs eco-friendly clothes sewn and embroidered by Indian village women.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

Kennedy in particular has been invested in defending the honor of red meat, repeatedly arguing, against standard medical recommendations, that diets high in animal fat are good for you.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

Earlier this year, Nvidia invested $2 billion in power developer Lancium, which gives it a 20% stake in the firm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

My mom taped it when it first aired on cable a couple of years later and since it was based on a beloved board game, I was invested.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Include what you own and where it’s held, as well as how it’s invested and taxed.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

Who said that if she got reassigned to a partner, they'd be anyone better or more invested in her idea than he was?

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

As more streamers adapt this feature, a brand like HBO investing in original short-form vertical content from young filmmakers could stand out.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

“Keeping production infrastructure active and investing in California’s capacity to support film and television is essential to our long-term competitiveness,” California Film Commission Executive Director Colleen Bell said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

The steep price for the young startup reflects the continued frenzy surrounding AI investing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

To outsiders, investing can seem like an elite country club with its own rules.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

There he created a thread called value investing.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023