Library / English Dictionary

VEST

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: vest   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A collarless men's undergarment for the upper part of the body

Synonyms:

singlet; undershirt; vest

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("vest" is a kind of...):

undergarment; unmentionable (a garment worn under other garments)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A man's sleeveless garment worn underneath a coat

Synonyms:

vest; waistcoat

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("vest" is a kind of...):

garment (an article of clothing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "vest"):

bulletproof vest (a vest capable of resisting the impact of a bullet)

Holonyms ("vest" is a part of...):

three-piece suit (a business suit consisting of a jacket and vest and trousers)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Clothe formally; especially in ecclesiastical robes

Synonyms:

robe; vest

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "vest" is one way to...):

apparel; clothe; dress; enclothe; fit out; garb; garment; habilitate; raiment; tog (provide with clothes or put clothes on)

Verb group:

vest (clothe oneself in ecclesiastical garments)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

vestment (gown (especially ceremonial garments) worn by the clergy)

vesture (a covering designed to be worn on a person's body)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Clothe oneself in ecclesiastical garments

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "vest" is one way to...):

dress; dress up (dress in a certain manner)

Verb group:

robe; vest (clothe formally; especially in ecclesiastical robes)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 3

Meaning:

Become legally vested

Example:

The property vests in the trustees

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "vest" is one way to...):

change hands; change owners (be transferred to another owner)

Verb group:

vest (place (authority, property, or rights) in the control of a person or group of persons)

Sentence frame:

Something is ----ing PP

Sense 4

Meaning:

Place (authority, property, or rights) in the control of a person or group of persons

Example:

She vested her vast fortune in her two sons

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "vest" is one way to...):

give (transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody)

Verb group:

vest (become legally vested)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Provide with power and authority

Example:

They vested the council with special rights

Synonyms:

enthrone; invest; vest

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "vest" is one way to...):

instal; install (put into an office or a position)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "vest"):

consecrate; ordain; order; ordinate (appoint to a clerical posts)

coronate; crown (invest with regal power; enthrone)

enthrone; throne (put a monarch on the throne)

ordain (invest with ministerial or priestly authority)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Credits

 Context examples: 

There’s another walker there, the man with a flowered vest standing near the fireplace.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His vest was of black velvet, open at the top to show an embroidered shirt-front, with a high, smooth, white cravat above it, which kept his neck for ever on the stretch.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I have put out your Sunday clothes with the nankeen vest, since you are to see the Prince to-morrow, and you will wear your brown silk stockings and buckle shoes.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He held out his sacred snuff-box to me as he spoke, as a solemn pledge of his goodwill, and, as I look back at him, there is no moment at which I see him more plainly than that with the old mischievous light dancing once more in his large intolerant eyes, one thumb in the armpit of his vest, and the little shining box held out upon his snow-white palm.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I helped him to a bedroom upstairs; while he took off his coat and vest I told him that all arrangements had been deferred until he came.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)