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 the gist of the growing threat posed by antibiotic resistance, which has contributed to millions of deaths since 1990 and is anticipated to contribute to millions more by 2050. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 4 June 2025

Comparing the familiar with the unfamiliar is a leadership communication and storytelling tool that helps clarify the complex, giving audiences a way to quickly get the gist. —Esther K. Choy, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025

Without divulging the specifics of the second half, the gist is that reexperiencing the events of the three days in Seattle from Abby’s perspective messes with Ellie’s positioning as a hero on a quest to avenge her father figure. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 26 May 2025

That’s the gist of Pixar’s Elio, the story of a preteen boy who prays to be liberated from the doldrums of terra firma and finds himself in way over his head once the obliging E.T.s mistake him for ambassador to Earth. —A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 20 May 2025