divestiture

noun

di·​ves·​ti·​ture dī-ˈve-stə-ˌchu̇r 

-chər,

də-,

 chiefly Southern  -t(y)u̇(ə)r

1

: the act of divesting

2

: the compulsory transfer of title or disposal of interests (such as stock in a corporation) upon government order

Examples of divestiture in a Sentence

Divestitures are used to break up monopolies.

Before divestiture, the telephone company monopolized the state.

Recent Examples on the Web

The government would approve the deal, require some sort of divestiture, and a year later, the divested assets were no longer competing effectively in the market. —Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 7 Aug. 2025

This transaction comes on the heels of previous divestitures, including the Andrew business and the $2.1 billion sale of outdoor wireless network and distributed antenna systems businesses in the previous year. —Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025

Condon advises clients on M&A, divestitures and joint ventures and counsels boards of directors and special committees on governance matters, change-of-control transactions, shareholder activism and complex structural issues. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 24 July 2025

In April, the company forecast its organic sales growth (which excludes the impact of foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestitures) would climb a meager 2% for the fiscal year ended June 30 - the worst performance since 2018. —Alexander Coolidge, The Enquirer, 29 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

divest + -iture (as in investiture)

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for divestiture

• investiture
• vestiture

Legal Definition

divestiture

noun

di·​ves·​ti·​ture dī-ˈves-ti-ˌchu̇r, də-, -chər 

1

: the sale or transfer of title to a property (as an operating division) under court order (as in bankruptcy)

2

: the sale of an asset (as a business division) that is unprofitable, does not enhance a corporate restructuring, or is felt to be morally reprehensible