invest

B2 · Upper Intermediate General-service

v. to spend a lot of time or energy on something because it is important to you.

v. to devote time, effort, or emotional energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result.

“If you invest time in learning a language now, it will help your career later.”

“The mentors invest significant energy into the development of their students, viewing the success of the graduates as their primary reward.”

C1 · Advanced Law Formal · Academic

v. to officially give someone power, a title, or a special quality.

v. to formally provide someone with power, authority, or a specific right; often used in the passive voice.

“The constitution invests the president with the power to veto new laws.”

“The royal charter invests the governor with the authority to manage all colonial trade agreements without direct parliamentary oversight.”

C2 · Proficiency Archaic · Literary

v. to surround a city or castle with an army to stop people from leaving or entering.

v. to surround a place with military forces in order to besiege it.

“The enemy forces began to invest the city walls at midnight.”

“The general chose to invest the fortress rather than risk a direct assault, hoping to starve the garrison into a quick surrender.”

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Science Technical

n. a weather area that experts are watching because it might turn into a big storm.

n. a designated area of disturbed weather monitored for potential tropical cyclone development.

“The weather center is tracking a new invest in the Atlantic Ocean.”

“Meteorologists upgraded the invest to a tropical depression after satellite imagery confirmed a closed surface circulation.”