gist

noun \ ˈjist \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Examples: gist in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of gist

1 : the ground (see ¹ground 2a) of a legal action

2 : the main point or part : essence

the gist of an argument

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See gist defined for kids

gist was our Word of the Day on 05/06/2014. Hear the podcast!

Examples of gist in a Sentence

Thus, Poulterers' Case gave rise to a doctrine which survives to this day: the gist of conspiracy is the agreement, and so the agreement is punishable even if its purpose was not achieved. —Wayne R. LaFave & Austin W. Scott, Jr., Criminal Law, (1972) 1986
… Einstein showed how time intervals depend on the motion of people and clocks doing the measuring. And that's the gist of relativity. —Alan Lightman, Science, January/February 1984
Dorothea told him that she had seen Lydgate, and recited the gist of her conversation with him about the Hospital. —George Eliot, Middlemarch, 1872
didn't catch every word between them, but heard enough to get the gist of the conversation

Recent Examples of gist from the Web

When the conversation began, Illig asked only that the focus be more on representing the gist of his words than finding the most quotable parts.

— sam mellinger, kansascity, "Cerner entrepreneur and Sporting co-owner Cliff Illig talks about the NBA's potential in Kansas City," 8 June 2018
The gist of the column was essentially that Dwight Howard was about to become the biggest superstar in the NBA.

— mike bianchi, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Dumbest column I've ever written: Dwight Howard would be greater than LeBron James," 8 June 2018
That's the gist of Valente's comic novel, with the fate of humanity on the line.

— jim higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "85 books for summer reading," 18 May 2018
Here's the basic gist: UVB rays are the rays that burn your skin and lead to skin cancer, while UVA rays are the rays that contribute to aging, leathery-looking skin and wrinkles.

— chloe metzger, Marie Claire, "I Waited 4 Months for This Japanese Skincare Product to Ship to Me and It's Changed My Life," 11 Aug. 2017
The aforementioned story is all but secondary to the general tone, but the gist of it involves mercenary Wade Wilson, a.k.a.

— brian lowry, CNN, "'Deadpool 2' gleefully revels in R-rated mayhem," 14 May 2018
Smith was accused of being criminally responsible for the acts that led to Washington's death, the gist of Alabama's accomplice law.

— marty roney, USA TODAY, "Teen turns down plea deal for 25 years in prison, gets 65 years instead," 5 Apr. 2018
The Versace family issued a second statement repeating the gist of the first statement.

— molly young, GQ, "The Excessive Vision of Donatella Versace," 20 Mar. 2018
After the ranking was published in November, The Erie Times-News took issue with some of the survey’s numbers, but not the gist.

— New York Times, "In Erie, One City Block Is a Trek of Disrespect," 12 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gist.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The gist of the conversation was that .... The word gist often appears in such contexts to let us know that what follows will be a statement or summary that in some way encapsulates the main point or overarching theme. The gist of a conversation, argument, story, or what-have-you is what we rely on when the actual words and details are only imperfectly recalled, inessential, or too voluminous to recount in their entirety. Gist was borrowed from the Anglo-French legal phrase "[cest] action gist" ("[this] action lies") in the early 18th century, and was originally used in legal contexts as a term referring to the foundation or grounds for a legal action without which that action would not be legally sustainable.

Origin and Etymology of gist

Anglo-French, it lies, from gisir to lie, ultimately from Latin jacēre — more at adjacent

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1711

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

gist Synonyms

Synonyms

bottom line, bull's-eye, centerpiece, core, crux, essence, heart, kernel, keynote, meat, meat and potatoes, net, nub, nubbin, nucleus, pith, pivot, point, root, sum;

Related Words

course, direction, drift, tenor;

body, content, substance;

hypothesis, proposition, purport, subject, theme, thesis;

Phrases

sum and substance, the long and short (or the long and the short);

GIST Defined for Kids

gist

noun \ ˈjist \

Definition of gist for Students

: the main point of a matter

He spoke so fast, I only got the gist of the story.

Law Dictionary

gist

noun \ ˈjist \

legal Definition of gist

: the ground or foundation of a legal action without which it would not be sustainable

Origin and Etymology of gist

Anglo-French, in the phrase laccion gist the action lies or is based (on), from gisir to lie (of process), from Old French gesir to lie, ultimately from Latin jacere