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

In Tuesday’s complaint, the FTC asked the court to end the agreement and weigh a potential divestiture of assets. —Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025

The company ultimately cut 37,000 jobs from buyouts and divestitures between 2011 and 2018. —Alexander Coolidge, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025

The company says a full divestiture of AdX isn’t needed and instead has proposed to make its ad tech tools work seamlessly with those of rivals. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 22 Sep. 2025

Under the law, ByteDance is barred from maintaining an operational relationship with TikTok in order for a divestiture to be approved. —Julia Shapero, The Hill, 19 Sep. 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