I. vest 1 /vest/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: French ; Origin: veste , from Latin vestis 'piece of clothing' ]
1 . British English a piece of underwear without ↑ sleeve s that you wear on the top half of your body SYN undershirt American English
2 . a piece of special clothing without ↑ sleeve s that you wear over your clothes to protect your body:
a bulletproof vest
3 . American English a piece of clothing without ↑ sleeve s and with buttons down the front that you wear as part of a suit SYN waistcoat British English
4 . a ↑ sweater without ↑ sleeve s
II. vest 2 BrE AmE verb law
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: vestir 'to clothe, invest' , from Latin vestire 'to clothe' , from vestis ; ⇨ ↑ vest 1 ]
vest something in somebody phrasal verb
to give someone the official right to do or own something:
Copyright is vested in the author for 50 years.