vest

American  

[vest] / vɛst /

noun

• vests
  plural

1. a close-fitting, waist-length, sleeveless garment that buttons down the front, designed to be worn under a jacket.

2. a part or trimming simulating the front of such a garment; vestee.

3. a waist-length garment worn for protective purposes.

   a bulletproof vest.

4. a sleeveless, waist- or hip-length garment made of various materials, with a front opening usually secured by buttons, a zipper, or the like, worn over a shirt, blouse, dress, or other article for style or warmth.

   a sweater vest; a down vest.

5. British. an undervest or undershirt.

6. a long garment resembling a cassock, worn by men in the time of Charles II.

7. Archaic.

   1. dress; apparel.

   2. an outer garment, robe, or gown.

   3. an ecclesiastical vestment.

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verb (used with object)

• vests,
  present (3rd person singular)
• vested,
  past participle,  past
• vesting
  present participle

1. to clothe; dress; robe.

2. to dress in ecclesiastical vestments.

   to vest a bishop.

3. to cover or drape (an altar).

4. to place or settle (something, especially property, rights, powers, etc.) in the possession or control of someone (usually followed byin ).

   to vest authority in a new official.

5. to invest or endow (a person, group, committee, etc.) with something, as powers, functions, or rights.

   to vest the board with power to increase production; to vest an employee with full benefits in the pension plan.

verb (used without object)

• vests,
  present (3rd person singular)
• vested,
  past participle,  past
• vesting
  present participle

1. to put on vestments.

2. to become vested in a person, as a right.

3. to devolve upon a person as possessor; pass into possession or ownership.

idioms

1. play it close to the vest, to avoid taking unnecessary risks.

vest British  

/ vɛst /

noun

1. US and Canadian equivalent: T-shirt.   undershirt.  Austral equivalent: singlet.  an undergarment covering the body from the shoulders to the hips, made of cotton, nylon, etc

2. Austral equivalent: singlet.  a similar sleeveless garment worn as outerwear

3. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): waistcoat.  a man's sleeveless waistlength garment worn under a suit jacket, usually buttoning up the front

4. obsolete any form of dress, esp a long robe

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verb

1. to place or settle (power, rights, etc, in)

   power was vested in the committee

2. to bestow or confer (on)

   the company was vested with authority

3. (usually foll by in) to confer (a right, title, property, etc, upon) or (of a right, title, etc) to pass (to) or devolve (upon)

4. (tr) to clothe or array

5. (intr) to put on clothes, ecclesiastical vestments, etc

Usage

What is a basic definition of vest? A vest is an article of clothing worn on the upper body, with no sleeves and with buttons down the front. The word vest is also used generally to refer to any similar garment. As a verb, vest means to put something in the possession of another person. Vest has several other senses as a noun and a verb. In the United States, the word vest refers to a sleeveless garment usually worn over a shirt and sometimes under a jacket. A vest is generally not supposed to be worn by itself.

• Real-life examples: The Disney cartoon character Goofy usually wears a black or brown vest over an orange shirt. If you wear a tuxedo, you will often wear a vest with it.
• Used in a sentence: A man’s three-piece suit includes a suit coat, vest, and trousers.

The word vest is also used to refer to other garments that lack sleeves and end at the waist.

• Real-life examples: Police officers wear bulletproof vests for protection. Airplanes, boats, and public pools keep life vests available to keep people from drowning. Hunters wear hunting vests with many pockets to store supplies.
• Used in a sentence: The professor could always be seen smoking a pipe and wearing a sweater vest.

As a verb, vest means to give power, rights, or responsibility to another person. This sense of vest is usually written as “vest in.”

• Real-life example: Most Americans are likely familiar with this sense of vest if they have attended a wedding: A religious figure will alert the attendees that a state has vested in them the power and authority to join people in a legally recognized marriage.
• Used in a sentence: Executive power is vested in the President through the Constitution.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• vestless
  adjective
• vestlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vests
  plural

Participles

• vesting
  present
• vested
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• vest
  simple
• vests
  simple
• have vested
  perfect
• has vested
  perfect
• am vesting
  progressive
• are vesting
  progressive
• is vesting
  progressive
• have been vesting
  perfect progressive
• has been vesting
  perfect progressive

Past

• vested
  simple
• had vested
  perfect
• was vesting
  progressive
• were vesting
  progressive
• had been vesting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will vest
  simple
• will have vested
  perfect
• will be vesting
  progressive
• will have been vesting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of vest

1375–1425; (noun) late Middle English < Italian veste robe, dress < Latin vestis garment; (v.) late Middle English < Middle French vestir < Latin vestīre to clothe, derivative of vestis; akin to wear

Explanation

A vest is a sleeveless piece of clothing that's usually worn over a shirt. Your dad might love to wear his favorite striped sweater vest to parties, which is less embarrassing than when he wears the orange furry one. There are different kinds of vests, including sweater vests, puffy winter vests, and tailored suit vests, usually worn underneath a formal jacket. Some vests have buttons, and others have zippers or snaps. Some are even bullet proof! When vest is a verb, it means to grant or bestow: "The Queen vests control of the zoos to the Royal Zookeeper." Both meanings of vest come from the same root word, the Latin vestire, "to clothe."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vest vests vested vesting

Some people still carry that information in a vest pocket.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026

Garcia-Leys said the plates could not be “used for a crime” or any other purpose unless they were slotted into a vest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Those founder tokens will be locked, meaning they can’t be sold, for six months and will vest fully in two years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

Wearing a life vest that showcased his toned arms, Macron cut a sporty figure as he vacationed at the Bregancon Fort, the presidential retreat, during France's August summer break.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

As far as timing goes, I’m starting to get the feeling that it’s now or never, so I slip on a desert camouflage tactical vest and head next door.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Unitree had previously drawn significant attention during China's annual Spring Festival gala performance, with its dexterous robots, wearing traditional Chinese vests, seen performing Kung Fu and jumping over tables.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Conrad: I’d come up with something like the scratchy safety vests they make you wear when you go fishing on a boat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Zemian, who had also been uncuffed, started digging through the SUV, collecting spare tactical vests, then propped them underneath the agent’s head.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

Today, before every commercial flight, cabin crew are required to outline where a plane's exits are, as well as the location of life vests and how to inflate them.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

“Cantonese, village people,” she whispered as we passed women in knitted caps, bent over in layers of padded tops and men’s vests.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

Unauthorized distributions can disqualify a plan, causing severe financial consequences, including immediate income taxes and any applicable penalties for employees on their vested balances.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026

He added that he was "arguably the first minister in the history of this state that is not beholden to one vested interest".

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

“All the parties have a vested interest in honesty, and in a good user experience.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

That word is “ALL”—“All legislative power herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

The final authority for them all was vested in Chicago’s bishop.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

Financial planners often recommend selling RSUs immediately upon vesting since the tax hit is already baked in, allowing you to diversify your portfolio by investing the cash from the sale elsewhere.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

According to ISS, another eyebrow-raising element was that the vast majority of Zaslav’s estimated compensation — over 94% — was being derived by the automatic acceleration of stock vesting and the excise tax gross-up payment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

The rationale for vesting awesome powers in a politically insulated central bank is that sage technocrats will make wise decisions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026

Lowry describes his youth as “a classic case of a father vesting a son with his own ambitions.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

Peter instituted a supervision over the autonomous Ukrainian administration, vesting authority in Muscovite officers, through whose hands passed everything pertaining to the hetman's chancellery.

From Memorandum to the Government of the United States on the Recognition of the Ukrainian People's Republic by Julian Batchinsky

Related Words

• bestow
• confer
• empower
• endow