in ‧ vest S3 W3 AC /ɪnˈvest/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ investment , ↑ investor ; verb : ↑ invest ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Italian ; Origin: investire 'to dress, invest' , from Latin , 'to dress' , from vestis 'piece of clothing' ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to buy shares, property, or goods because you hope that the value will increase and you can make a profit:
I’ve got a few thousand dollars I’m looking to invest.
invest (something) in something
Oliver made a fortune by investing in antique furniture.
Williams invested a large sum of money in Swiss stocks.
He had invested heavily (=invested a lot of money) in the bond market.
2 . [intransitive and transitive] if a government, business, or organization invests in something, they spend a large amount of money to improve it or help it succeed
invest (something) in something
The city has invested millions of dollars in the museum.
The factory plans to invest in new computers.
REGISTER
In everyday English, people often say put money in/into something rather than invest in something:
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He put money into his brother’s business.
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The government put in millions of pounds.
3 . [transitive] to use a lot of time, effort etc or spend money in order to make something succeed
invest something in something
It was very difficult to leave a home we had invested so much in.
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THESAURUS
▪ invest verb [intransitive and transitive] to buy shares or property, in order to make a profit:
Why don’t you invest the money on the stock market?
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He invested £50,000 in his brother’s business.
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Investing in property is probably not a good idea right now.
▪ put money into something to give money to a business, organization, activity etc, in order to help it develop and be successful:
We’re looking for an investor who will put money into our business.
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Every year the charity puts millions of dollars into research to find ways to treat cancer.
▪ back [transitive usually passive] to invest in a project or business, especially when the fact that you do this shows you support it:
The scheme has been backed by several major companies.
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The movie is backed by a powerful state-owned bank.
▪ interest noun [countable] if you have an interest in a particular company, you own shares in it:
In 1986 GM acquired a controlling interest (=enough shares to control what decisions are taken) in the sports car maker Lotus.
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He has business interests throughout Europe.
invest (something) in something phrasal verb
to buy something or spend money or time on something, because it will be useful for you:
It’s about time you invested in a new shirt.
Everyone here has a lot invested in their careers.
invest somebody/something with something phrasal verb formal
1 . to officially give someone power to do something:
Jody has invested Alan with great power over her career.
2 . to make someone or something seem to have a particular quality or character:
Richard’s heavy-rimmed glasses invested him with an air of intelligence.