Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Investment \In*vest"ment\, n.
1. The act of investing, or the state of being invested.
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2. That with which anyone is invested; a vestment.
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Whose white investments figure innocence. --Shak.
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3. (Mil.) The act of surrounding, blocking up, or besieging
by an armed force, or the state of being so surrounded.
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The capitulation was signed by the commander of the
fort within six days after its investments.
--Marshall.
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4. The laying out of money in the purchase of some species of
property; also, the amount of money invested, or that in
which money is invested.
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Before the investment could be made, a change of the
market might render it ineligible. --A. Hamilton.
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An investment in ink, paper, and steel pens.
--Hawthorne.
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investment
n 1: the act of investing; laying out money or capital in an
enterprise with the expectation of profit [syn: investing]
2: money that is invested with an expectation of profit [syn: investmentfunds]
3: outer layer or covering of an organ or part or organism
4: the act of putting on robes or vestments
5: the ceremonial act of clothing someone in the insignia of an
office; the formal promotion of a person to an office or
rank [syn: investiture]