As an adjective vested means to be absolutely promised as a benefit or legal right. To be vested in a company is to have been given certain benefits or privileges.
It can also mean having a vest, which is a sleeveless garment worn over the torso.
A related phrasal noun is vested interest. Vested interest means an additional motive for desiring a certain action or outcome. This additional motive usually is personal or not relating to the main motive.
Sometimes vested is used as shorthand for having a vested interest. However, this may cause confusion between having a right to something or simply having a desire for that outcome.
Examples
The CCI has been vested with powers to take suo motu action against manufacturers and sellers who use market dominance or cartels to rig prices or to indulge in anti-competitive practices. [Hindustan Times]
At some point in the foreseeable future, policy makers will find themselves considering how to bring the state’s commitment to its employees into line with what the voters and taxpayers are willing to tolerate, or, in plain English, cutting the vested pension benefits that have been promised to existing state government workers. [New Jersey Law Journal]
Mr. Tune, who stands 6-foot-6 and wore a scarlet vested suit for his show, “Taps, Tunes and Tall Tales,” is larger than life. [The New York Times]
When you’re ready to get started, Golden advises, look for a home-efficiency contractor who offers all of the above solutions; that way he doesn’t have a vested interest in selling you one method or product over another. [Time]
“There are a lot of vested interest in rugby since the game went professional. The schools are direct feeders into the professional game so you can see how there is potential for disaster, and you can imagine not too many people with vested interest are keen to turn the spotlight on the downsides of this arrangement.” [The Irish Times]