divestment

IPA/daɪˈvestmənt/
KK[daɪvˈɛstmənt]IPA/daɪˈvestmənt/

divestment — noun

  • divestmentsingular
  • divestmentsplural

1. the act of selling a business unit or shares held in another company, or pulling

1.nounC1
Definition

the act of selling a business unit or shares held in another company, or pulling invested money back out of a particular industry or project

Example

Amina's company announced the divestment of its struggling European factories last Thursday.

divestment of + asset for selling a subsidiary

Kyoto University's divestment of ¥12 billion from oil and gas companies took three years of board negotiations.

divestment of + amount + from + sector with named institution

Common collocations
  • divestment plan
  • divestment strategy
  • announce divestment
  • demand divestment
  • full divestment
  • partial divestment
  • complete divestment
  • divestment campaign
Synonyms
  • divestiture

    near-synonym; more common in American legal and regulatory contexts

  • disposal

    broader term for getting rid of any asset, not just investment holdings

  • liquidation

    implies converting assets to cash, often under financial pressure or when closing a business

  • sell-off

    informal term suggesting a quick, large-scale sale, sometimes at low prices

Antonyms
  • investment

    the act of putting money into something rather than taking it out

  • acquisition

    buying or taking over assets, the opposite movement from the company's perspective

Grammar Patterns

divestment of + noun phrase

divestment from + noun phrase

Usage Note

Almost exclusively used in formal business and institutional settings. In everyday conversation about selling personal property, use 'sale' or 'selling' instead. Typically takes 'of' (naming what is sold) or 'from' (naming the sector left behind).

Common Mistakes

My divestment of my old car took a week.
The sale of my old car took a week.
divestment is used for business assets or investment holdings, not personal belongings.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Divestment and divestiture are near-synonyms in formal business English: both mean selling off assets or withdrawing investment. Divestiture is more common in American legal and regulatory contexts, such as court-ordered breakups, while divestment often describes voluntary withdrawals, especially those driven by ethical or environmental concerns. Disposal is broader and less formal — you can dispose of anything, not just investments. Liquidation implies urgency: converting assets to cash, often because a business is closing or facing financial pressure. Sell-off is the most informal of the group, suggesting a quick, large-scale sale, sometimes at discounted prices. For example: 'The antitrust ruling forced the divestiture of the company's search division.' vs. 'The student campaign demanded divestment from fossil-fuel companies.' vs. 'The bankrupt retailer began liquidation of all remaining stock.'

divestiture ↗disposal ↗liquidation ↗sell-off

Common collocations

Nouns

  • asset divestment
  • share divestment

Phrases

  • divestment programme
  • divestment of assets

Prepositions

  • divestment of
  • divestment from

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Divestment comes from the verb 'divest' plus the noun suffix '-ment'. 'Divest' entered English from Old French 'desvestir', meaning 'to undress or strip off clothing'. The Old French word traces back to Latin 'dis-' (away, apart) and 'vestire' (to clothe). The financial meaning — stripping away investments or business holdings — developed as a metaphor in the 20th century, as though a company were removing layers of clothing.