the gist

noun

: the general or basic meaning of something said or written : the main points

—usually + of

The gist of her argument was that the law was unfair.

I didn't read the whole article, but I got the gist of it.

Examples of the gist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s basically the gist of what actress Maria Sten and Neagley showrunners Nick Wootton and Nick Santora tell Entertainment Weekly while reflecting on the spinoff series centered on Sten’s fan-favorite character from the Reacher franchise. — Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 22 July 2026

Visitors can also get the gist from the informative placards on key pieces. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 July 2026

That’s the gist of a 181-page report from a team of University of California researchers that was charged with defining the factors to be resolved before such a system could be implemented. — Dan Walters, Mercury News, 23 June 2026

The original video of that game had been damaged and lost for some time, but then, after many years, it was retrieved and painstakingly restored—incompletely, but just enough to get the gist, as with the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Gnostic gospels. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 14 June 2026