gumption
noun
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English speakers have had gumption (the word, that is) since the early 1700s. The term's source isn't known, but early examples of it are found in Scottish (the related terms rumblegumption and rumgumption can be found there too). Gumption originally referred to common sense, but American English speakers adopted the word and took it in a new direction, using it to refer to the kind of courage or get-up-and-go that makes undertaking difficult things possible. Art historians may know a couple additional applications for the word: gumption was historically used both to refer to the art of preparing painters' colors, and as a synonym of megilp, which refers to a mixture of linseed oil and mastic varnish that is used as a vehicle for oil paints.
Examples of gumption in a Sentence
Davis Winkie, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025
Fitzgerald’s gumption as a deep field-goal kicker was tested with the Panthers up, 7-0, and having all the momentum.
—Charlotte Observer, 21 Sep. 2025
And of course, as has been the case since the beginning of MLPerf, Nvidia ran all the models and beat back all the competition, the few that had the gumption to compete.
—Karl Freund, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
With a scarf, ingenuity, and gumption, Breinberg had scored higher than the people who’d used fire, dry needling, hammocks, and cups.
—Sarah Larson, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gumption
Cite this Entry
“Gumption.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gumption. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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gumption
noun
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