gist

American  

[jist] / dʒɪst /

noun

gists plural

1. the main or essential part of a matter.

   What was the gist of his speech?

   Synonyms:

   import, kernel, burden, substance, point, essence

2. the ground of a legal action.

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gist British  

/ dʒɪst /

noun

1. the point or substance of an argument, speech, etc

2. law the essential point of an action

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• gists
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gist

First recorded in 1720–30; from Anglo-French (cest action) gist “(this matter) lies,” 3rd-person singular present of Anglo-French, Old French gesir “to lie” (compare modern French ci-gît “here lies”), ultimately from Latin jacēre; cf. adjacent ( def. ), hic jacet ( def. )

Explanation

When you need a quick summary of the essentials, rather than the whole story or a thorough explanation, you're looking for the gist. The word gist has had a variety of meanings in English, but most of them have become obsolete. The surviving sense of the word entered the language by way of the law: The gist of any legal action is the factor on which the action depends — that is, an alleged assault might be the gist of an indictment. The meaning of gist has evolved, though, and now it can be used to describe the core component of any matter, as in, "He watched the trailer, but he still didn't get the gist of the movie." Or, "She was having trouble writing a headline that conveyed the gist of her article."

Example Sentences

He has no idea what aspartame is, technically speaking, but he gets the gist.

From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026

The gist: Intel’s server central processing unit, or CPU, business for artificial-intelligence computing is making up for weakness in the PC chip market.

From Barron's • Apr. 16, 2026

This has been the gist of every serious analysis of Europe’s economy for the past several decades, the most recent of which was prepared in 2024 by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

There's still time to catch up was his gist.

From BBC • Oct. 26, 2025

But their gist was simple: Hubler and his group had made a massive bet that subprime loans would go bad.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• summary
• tenor
• upshot