noun
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the point or substance of an argument, speech, etc
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law the essential point of an action
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing gist
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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Born a Crime
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
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
That point is also the gist of the bipartisan letter, signed by 33 Republicans and five Democrats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025
The 'time of their lives', is the gist.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2025
Like all the lessons at the Institute, this one was a barrage of details—pages and pages worth—but the gist was that sickness, like a hungry predator, lurked in every nook and cranny.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
"This prompt-based LLM framework that identifies gists at scale has many potential applications that can promote better health and wellbeing."
From Science Daily ● May 13, 2024
“Only an Octave Apart” is a show of many, many gists.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 14, 2022
Instead, the inquiry has been granted permission to "disclose quotes or gists of the content" to help explain its conclusions.
From BBC ● May 30, 2014
The inquiry has revealed that an agreement has been reached on what type of "gists and quotes" will be released from 25 notes and 130 records of conversations between Blair and Bush.
From The Guardian ● May 29, 2014
I was with Lucy while it took place, but certain gists of what was said and done have come to me, some from my mother, and some from Hilda.
From We Three by Henry Hutt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
