gust

¹ American  

[guhst] / gʌst /

noun

1. a sudden, strong blast of wind.

2. a sudden rush or burst of water, fire, smoke, sound, etc.

3. an outburst of passionate feeling.

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verb (used without object)

1. to blow or rush in gusts.

gust ² American  

[guhst] / gʌst /

noun

1. Archaic. flavor or taste.

2. Obsolete. enjoyment or gratification.

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verb (used with object)

1. Scot. to taste; savor.

gust British  

/ ɡʌst /

noun

1. a sudden blast of wind

2. a sudden rush of smoke, sound, etc

3. an outburst of emotion

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verb

1. to blow in gusts

   the wind was gusting to more than 50 mph

Related Words

See wind ¹.

Other Word Forms

• gustable adjective
• gustless adjective

Etymology

Origin of gust¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Old Norse gustr “a gust,” akin to gjōsa, gusa “to gust”

Origin of gust²

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin gustus a tasting (of food), eating a little, akin to gustāre to taste

Example Sentences

Across the state, the highest wind gusts are expected along the coast, up to 65 to 70 mph, with officials warning of downed tree limbs and power outages too.

From BBC

Power outages are likely due to heavy snow and strong wind gusts, forecasters said.

From Barron's

The NWS also warned that wind gusts of 40 mph to 70 mph from coastal New Jersey to southeast New England, combined with heavy, wet snow, could result in power outages.

From Barron's

Light to moderate snowfall early on Sunday was expected to increase, with snowfall rates greater than 2 to 3 inches an hour at times, combining with strong wind gusts in the 40- to 70-mile-per-hour range.

From The Wall Street Journal

Wind gusts of as much as 55 miles an hour were expected, with the potential to cause flight cancellations, downed trees and power outages, forecasters warned.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• blast
• breeze
• burst
• explosion
• flurry
• gale
• squall
• storm