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Definition of vest noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

vest

noun
 
/vest/
 
/vest/
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  1. (British English)
    (North American English undershirt)
    a piece of underwear worn under a shirt, etc. next to the skin
    • a cotton vest
    compare singlet
    Extra Examples
    • What are you doing, standing there in your vest?
    • standing there in vest and shorts
    Topics Clothes and Fashionb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • sleeveless
    • string
    • thermal
    • …
    preposition
    • in your vest
    See full entry
  2. a special piece of clothing that covers the upper part of the body
    • a bullet-proof vest
    • a running vest
    Topics Clothes and Fashionb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • bulletproof
    • stab-proof
    • Kevlar™
    • …
    See full entry
  3. (North American English)
    (British English waistcoat)
    a short piece of clothing with buttons down the front but no arms, usually worn over a shirt and under a jacket, often forming part of a formal suit
    • wearing jeans and a leather vest
    • He is smartly dressed in a suit complete with vest, tie and polished Gucci loafers.
    Topics Clothes and Fashionb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • sleeveless
    • matching
    • denim
    • …
    See full entry
    4. Word Originlate Middle English (as a verb): from Old French vestu ‘clothed’, past participle of vestir, from Latin vestire; the noun (early 17th cent., denoting a loose outer garment) from French veste, via Italian from Latin vestis ‘garment’.
See vest in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: vest

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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