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
Some interpret the gist of the remark to suggest that the percentage is so low that concerns about unhealthy user-AI relationships are not an especially disconcerting issue and are perhaps being overblown.
—
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
That’s the gist of My Oxford Year, a new romance film on Netflix starring Sofia Carson and based on the novel by Julia Whelan.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 1 Aug. 2025
Or at least, that’s the gist of a spate of recent headlines about the hidden environmental impact of this technology.
—Erin Neil, New Yorker, 25 June 2025
Shakman whisks us past all of this information, perhaps assuming that viewers have picked up the gist from past cinematic efforts and wouldn’t want to sit through all that backstory again.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for the gist
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Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
That’s the gist of My Oxford Year, a new romance film on Netflix starring Sofia Carson and based on the novel by Julia Whelan.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 1 Aug. 2025
Or at least, that’s the gist of a spate of recent headlines about the hidden environmental impact of this technology.
—Erin Neil, New Yorker, 25 June 2025
Shakman whisks us past all of this information, perhaps assuming that viewers have picked up the gist from past cinematic efforts and wouldn’t want to sit through all that backstory again.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for the gist
Cite this Entry
“The gist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20gist. Accessed 25 Aug. 2025.
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