vest
/vɛst/noun, verb
vest is spelled V-E-S-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, vest means “A sleeveless garment that buttons down the front, worn over a shirt, and often as part of a suit; a waistcoat” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of vest is vests.
How many letters and syllables are in vest?
| Letters | 4: V-E-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.4 times per million words; the 10,680th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is vest?
Vest appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce vest?
- /vɛst/
Vest has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-vest.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of vest
- vests plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- vesting participle, present
- vested participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vest mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
CanadaUSA sleeveless garment that buttons down the front, worn over a shirt, and often as part of a suit; a waistcoat.
- 2
UKA sleeveless garment, often with a low-cut neck, usually worn under a shirt or blouse.
- 3
A sleeveless top, typically with identifying colours or logos, worn by an athlete or member of a sports team.
- 4
Any sleeveless outer garment, often for a purpose such as identification, safety, or storage.
- 5
A vestment.
- 6
Clothing generally; array; garb.
Not seldom, clad in radiant vest / Deceitfully goes forth the morn.
- 7
archaicA loose robe or outer garment worn historically by men in Arab or Middle Eastern countries.
verb
- 1
To clothe with, or as with, a vestment, or garment; to dress; to robe; to cover, surround, or encompass closely.
- 2
To clothe with authority, power, etc.; to put in possession; to invest; to furnish; to endow; followed by with and the thing conferred.
to vest a court with power to try cases of life and death
- 3
To place or give into the possession or discretion of some person or authority; to commit to another; with in before the possessor.
The power of life and death is vested in the king, or in the courts.
- 4
To clothe with possession; also, to give a person an immediate fixed right of present or future enjoyment of.
to vest a person with an estate
- 5
(of an inheritance or a trust fund) To devolve upon the person currently entitled when a prior interest has ended.
Upon the death of the Sovereign the Crown automatically vests in the next heir without the need of coronation or other formality.
- 6
To become vested, to become permanent.
My pension vests at the end of the month and then I can take it with me when I quit.
- 7
obsoleteTo invest; to put.
to vest money in goods, land, or houses
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Vest in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gilet , tricot de corps |
| German | Weste, Gilet , Unterhemd , verleihen, übergeben |
| Portuguese | colete , regata |
| Spanish | chaleco , camiseta de tirantes |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does vest come from?
Derived from French veste (“a vest, jacket”), from Latin vestis (“a garment, gown, robe, vestment, clothing, vesture”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéstis, from *wes- (“to be dressed”) (English wear). Cognate with Sanskrit वस्त्र (vastra) and Spanish vestir.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).