divest

verb

di·​vest dī-ˈvest 

də-

divested; divesting; divests

transitive verb

1

a

: to deprive or dispossess especially of property, authority, or title

divesting assets to raise capital

was divested of his rights

divesting herself of all her worldly possessions

encouraged the university to divest itself from fossil fuels

b

: to undress or strip especially of clothing, ornament, or equipment

Christmas trees divested of their ornaments

c

: rid, free

2

: to take away from a person

divestment

dī-ˈves(t)-mənt 

də-

noun

Did you know?

The vest in divest is a close relation of the kind found in closets—its origin is Latin vestis meaning “clothing, garment.” (Vest has the same source and first appeared in English as a verb in the 15th century meaning “to put on garments or vestments.”) Divest today mostly appears in legal and business contexts about a formal removal or loss of something of value; assets that are divested are sold or given away; someone divested of a right officially loses that right. The word’s first late 16th century use, however, was more intimately related to its roots: divest was then used to mean “to undress or strip especially of clothing, ornament, or equipment.” But broader application of divest soon followed. In Shakespeare’s Henry V, the French King Charles is told via messenger that England’s King Henry “wills you, in the name of God Almighty, / That you divest yourself, and lay apart / ... the crown / And all wide-stretched honours that pertain ...”

Synonyms

• dispossess
• expropriate
• oust

Examples of divest in a Sentence

The company is divesting 8 of its 20 stores.

We may have to divest assets to raise capital.

Recent Examples on the Web

Fueled by outrage over Israel’s war in Gaza, students pushed for their universities to divest from companies linked to the Israeli government. —Matt Lavietes, NBC News, 15 Mar. 2025

Khalil participated in student protests last year at Columbia University and was one of the negotiators on behalf of students during on-campus protests pushing for the university to divest from Israel over the war with Hamas. —Adrian Florido, NPR, 12 Mar. 2025

Activist groups at both universities erected controversial encampments in May 2024, calling for the higher education institutions to divest from Israel. —Jennah Pendleton, Sacramento Bee, 11 Mar. 2025

Last year, Congress passed a bill banning the app unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divested. —Alix Martichoux, The Hill, 11 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of devest

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing divest

• divest of
• divest (oneself) of (something)

Rhymes for divest

• abreast
• accessed
• addressed
• appressed
• armrest
• arrest
• assessed
• attest
• backrest
• behest
• bequest
• caressed

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Kids Definition

divest

verb

di·​vest dī-ˈvest 

də-

: to take something off or away from

divested myself of my heavy backpack

Legal Definition

divest

transitive verb

di·​vest dī-ˈvest, də- 

: to deprive or dispossess (oneself) of property through divestiture

divestment noun

Etymology

Anglo-French devestir, literally, to undress, from Old French desvestir, from de(s)-, prefix marking reversal + vestir to dress, from Latin vestire