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vested interest

noun

Etymology

Popularized in sociology by Thorstein Veblen, The Vested Interests and the Common Man (1919). But used earlier, e.g. by Winston Churchill: * 1899, Winston Churchill, The River War, an Account of the Reconquest of the Sudan, page 15: The name of the General was a sufficient guarantee that the slave trade was being earnestly attacked. The Khedive would gladly have stopped at the guarantee, and satisfied the world without disturbing 'vested interests.' But...

Definitions

  1. An indefeasible right or title, distinguished from a contingent interest, which could be…

    An indefeasible right or title, distinguished from a contingent interest, which could be defeated (i.e. cease) if a certain event occurred.

    • I saw them enjoying a special privilege which had been theirs so long that it had become a vested interest: they seemed to think it was a law ordained of nature that they should be forever life's favorite sons.

  2. A fixed right granted to an employee, especially under a pension plan.

  3. A stake, often financial, in a particular outcome.

  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. A group of people or organizations with such a stake, especially those that seek to…

      A group of people or organizations with such a stake, especially those that seek to control an existing system or activity from which they derive benefit.

      • But it was not a question of evidence, of guilt or innocence. Tom Mooney was bitterly hated by the vested interests of San Francisco. He had to be gotten out of the way.
      • On this point there was no difference between mercantilists and feudalists, between crowned planners and vested interests, between centralizing bureaucrats and conservative particularists.

    2. An exceptionally strong interest in protecting or promoting something to one's own…

      An exceptionally strong interest in protecting or promoting something to one's own advantage.

      • Pervasive changes unfold spontaneously from new system structures. No one need engage in sacrifice or coercion, except, perhaps, to prevent people with vested interests from ignoring, distorting, or restricting relevant information.
      • Mr Yates conceded: "These cases are very difficult to prove because they are bargains made in secret. Both parties have an absolute vested interest in those secrets [not] coming out.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for vested interest. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA