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Gust Beyond Wind
You're no doubt familiar with the simple gust that means "a brief burst of wind." At least a century and a half before that word first appeared in print in the late 16th century, however, a differently derived homograph came on the scene. The windy gust is probably derived from an Old Norse word gustr, whereas our older featured word (which is now considerably rarer than its look-alike) comes to us through Middle English from gustus, the Latin word for "taste." Gustus gave English another word as well. Gusto (which now usually means "zest" but can also mean "an individual or specific taste") comes to us from gustus by way of Italian.
Examples of gust in a Sentence
Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2025
The storms are foreseen to bring wind gusts of up to 40 mph and marble-sized hail (0.5 inches).
—Kansas City Star Weather Bot, Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 2025
Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
Wind gusts up to 70 mph are also possible through 10 p.m.
Update at 3:35 p.m.: More than 500 flights were delayed at Denver International Airport on Thursday afternoon as thunderstorms brought high winds, hail and the threat of tornadoes to metro Denver and the Eastern Plains.
—Katie Langford, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gust
Cite this Entry
“Gust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gust. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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