bə̇ˈstō, bē- transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English bestowen, from be- + -stowen (from stowe place) — more at stow
1.
a. : to put to use : apply , devote
hours quite as well bestowed as hours spent in golfing — A.C.Benson
b. obsolete : to lay out (money) : spend
2.
a. : to set in a given place, position, or situation : put , place , locate
they saw her down the path and bestowed in her car with tender solicitude by the chauffeur — Frances Towers
b. : to put away (as in storing) : deposit for safekeeping : stow
parcels which she bestowed in the corners of the vehicle — Arnold Bennett
without pausing to take breath till the whole cargo was bestowed — R.L.Stevenson
3. obsolete : to give in marriage : marry off
4. : to provide with a lodging place : put up : quarter
bestowed Clotilde in lodgings of her own — Rayner Heppenstall
5. : to present as a gift : give , grant , confer
a favor that the Roman was pleased to bestow — L.C.Douglas
— usually used with on or upon
he bestows on them more praise than critical judgment — R.A.Cordell
6. obsolete : to conduct or acquit (oneself)