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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

bestow.

To apply or make use of (someone or something); to employ, to use.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/bɪˈstəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/bɪˈstoʊ/General-American/bɪˈsto/Scotland/bɪˈstou/Wales
  1. To apply or make use of (someone or something); to employ, to use.

    transitive
  2. To apply or make use of (someone or something); to employ, to use. To apply (money) for some purpose; to expend, to spend.

    obsolete · specifically · transitive
  3. To impart (something) gratuitously; to present (something) to someone or something, especially as a gift or an honour; to confer, to give, to accord; to render.

    transitive
    I bestow upon you the name of Peter.
    Medals were bestowed on the winning team.
  4. To place or put (someone or something) somewhere or in a certain situation; to dispose of.

    archaic · transitive
  5. To deposit (something) for safekeeping; to lay up (something) in store; to stow.

    archaic · transitive
  6. To provide (someone or oneself) with accommodation; to find quarters for (someone or oneself); to lodge, to quarter.

    also · archaic · reflexive · transitive
  7. To behave or conduct (oneself); to acquit.

    obsolete · reflexive · transitive
  8. To give (someone or oneself) in marriage.

    also · obsolete · reflexive · transitive
Where this word comes from

PIE word *h₁épi The verb is derived from Middle English bestowen, bistouen, bistowen (“to give, bestow; to apply (something to something else); to arrange or have control over (something); to place (someone) in a position; to use (for some purpose); (reflexive) to find (oneself) a place to live or shelter”) [and other forms], from bi- (prefix forming verbs, often with a completive, figurative, or intensive meaning) + stouen, stowen (“to pack (cargo) in a ship, stow; to place (someone) in a certain position; to provide quarters for, lodge; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to place; to stand (up)”)). The English word is analysable as be- (intensifying prefix forming verbs) + stow (“to put (something) away in a suitable place; etc.”). The noun is derived from the verb.

noun/bɪˈstəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/bɪˈstoʊ/General-American/bɪˈsto/Scotland/bɪˈstou/Wales
  1. An act of presenting a thing to someone or something, especially as a gift or an honour; a bestowal.

    obsolete · rare · transitive
Where this word comes from

PIE word *h₁épi The verb is derived from Middle English bestowen, bistouen, bistowen (“to give, bestow; to apply (something to something else); to arrange or have control over (something); to place (someone) in a position; to use (for some purpose); (reflexive) to find (oneself) a place to live or shelter”) [and other forms], from bi- (prefix forming verbs, often with a completive, figurative, or intensive meaning) + stouen, stowen (“to pack (cargo) in a ship, stow; to place (someone) in a certain position; to provide quarters for, lodge; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to place; to stand (up)”)). The English word is analysable as be- (intensifying prefix forming verbs) + stow (“to put (something) away in a suitable place; etc.”). The noun is derived from the verb.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.