invest

Synonyms

Antonyms

In*vest", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Invested; p. pr. & vb. n. Investing.] Etym: [L. investire, investitum; pref. in- in + vestire to clothe, fr. vestis clothing: cf. F. investir. See Vest.] 1. To put garments on; to clothe; to dress; to array; -- opposed to divest. Usually followed by with, sometimes by in; as, to invest one with a robe. 2. To put on. [Obs.] Can not find one this girdle to invest. Spenser. 3. To clothe, as with office or authority; to place in possession of rank, dignity, or estate; to endow; to adorn; to grace; to bedeck; as, to invest with honor or glory; to invest with an estate. I do invest you jointly with my power. Shak. 4. To surround, accompany, or attend. Awe such as must always invest the spectacle of the guilt. Hawthorne. 5. To confer; to give. [R.] It investeth a right of government. Bacon. 6. (Mil.) Defn: To inclose; to surround of hem in with troops, so as to intercept succors of men and provisions and prevent escape; to lay siege to; as, to invest a town. 7. To lay out (money or capital) in business with the as, to invest money in bank stock. In*vest", v. i. Defn: To make an investment; as, to invest in stocks; -- usually followed by in.