gesture

A gesture is a movement of the hand, arms, or other body part that is intended to indicate or emphasize something, often when speaking.

In other words, gestures are body movements that express something. For example, a wave of the hand is a common gesture used to say hello to someone. In this sense, gesture is also commonly used as a verb.

A gesture can also be an action done for a specific reason, such as to show gratitude, as in Sending him flowers was a nice gesture. 

In the context of digital technology, we interact with touchscreen devices using gestures—movements such as swiping a finger from side to side or using two fingers to “pinch” the screen and zoom in and out.

Example: When Tom walked into the office, his boss made a gesture to him to have a seat so they could talk.

The first records of the word gesture in English come from around 1400. It comes from the Medieval Latin word gestūra, meaning “mode of action” or “manner.” The verb gesticulate, which is synonymous with the verb sense of gesture, is based on the same root.

Most gestures are arm or hand gestures—like giving a thumbs-up or a salute or just waving your arms around when you talk. But you can gesture with all kinds of body parts, including your head, face, or even the entire body. Gestures are a part of body language, and they can emphasize or even change the meaning of what we’re saying. Of course, many gestures are used without speech. Sign language consists entirely of gestures. Some gestures are nearly universal, but some gestures that are common in one culture may mean something very different in another.

Similarly, the gestures we perform on touchscreen devices are often the same or similar from one device to the next (like pinching to zoom), but they can differ.

In a less literal sense, a gesture is any action done as a formality or intended to demonstrate an intention, as in I showed up to the party as a gesture of friendship. We often use gesture in this way to indicate that what’s being done is less important than what it’s supposed to communicate, as in It doesn’t matter what you get her—the gift is just a gesture.

What are some other forms related to gesture?

• gestural (adjective)
• gesturer (noun)

What are some synonyms for gesture?

• gesticulate
• motion

What are some words that share a root or word element with gesture? 

• gest
• suggest

What are some words that often get used in discussing gesture?

• body language
• sign
• signal
• expression
• action
• communication
• action

Gestures may differ from culture to culture, but gesturing is universal.

Day one of online teaching, wherein I learn just how much of my teaching persona is "emphatic hand gestures."

— Todd G. Nordgren (@TGNordgren) April 6, 2020

Nice gesture made towards me today. Buying refs in the supermarket and join the queue trying to pay. Lady at the self checkout turns and sees me and says “Officer please go in front of me. You may get a call at any second & you need to eat.” Needless to say I accepted. #kindness

— Response Monkey (@ResponseMonkey) March 16, 2020

Also, my extremely hot take is that Google was right to make the entire left and right side of the phone the back gesture, despite how it breaks the swipe gesture for opening drawers.

As the most-used system-level navigation feature on Android, it needs to be easy and consistent

— Dieter Bohn (@backlon) September 4, 2019

Is gesture used correctly in the following sentence?

If he doesn’t see you, try to gesture to him to get his attention.