English Reference

Word

invested

Phoneticsin·vest·ed

US/ˌɪnˈvɛstəd/

UK/ɪnvˈɛstɪd/

Definitions

01emotionally involved

B2

adj. to care deeply about the result of something because you have put time or emotion into it.

adj. having a significant emotional or personal stake in an outcome, often due to a prior commitment of time or energy.

“I am so invested in this TV show that I cried during the final episode.”

“By the third year of the project, the researchers were so emotionally invested in the community that they found it difficult to remain objective.”

Usage

Often used with the preposition 'in'.

02spent money or time

B1

v. the past tense of putting money, time, or effort into something to get a profit or benefit later.

v. the past participle or simple past form of 'invest', indicating the allocation of capital or resources with the expectation of a future return.

“The company invested millions of dollars in new technology last year.”

“Having invested heavily in renewable energy early on, the firm was well-positioned to capitalise on the new environmental regulations.”

Usage

As a verb, it is transitive and typically takes 'in' before the asset or project.

Real-World Examples

“Firms like Microsoft, Google and Anthropic have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in developing Large Language Models (LLMs) the tech behind those services.”
BBC News · 11 Aug 2026
“The tech and personal device industries are heavily invested in the technology.”
BBC News · 6 Aug 2026
“But while Argos has invested a lot in digital, it never quite happened.”
BBC News · 6 Aug 2026

Collocations

invested in starinvested a lotinvested heavily

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/invested

English Reference