Gist
/dʒɪst/
nounB2
Definition
Gist means the central meaning or main point of what someone says or writes. It is not all the details, but the important part that helps you understand the overall message.
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See It in Action
The main idea or point of spoken or written information
- •I didn’t catch every word, but I got the gist of the conversation.
- •Can you tell me the gist of the story?
- •The gist of his argument is that we need to work harder.
The essence or core meaning that explains something simply
- •The gist of the report is that sales are increasing.
- •After reading the article, I understood the gist without knowing all the details.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "gist" like "idea," but only the most important part, not every detail.
- ✓Picture reading a long letter but only remembering the main message, like the heart of the story.
- ✓It's the feeling when someone explains something quickly, and you understand the big picture without all the small facts.
- ✓Sounds like "just" → imagine you "just" need the main part, not everything else.
- ✓Imagine a teacher summarizing a long lesson into one simple sentence—the summary is the gist.
- ✓NOT like "details" (all small parts), gist is only the main point.
- ✓NOT like "summary" (a full short version), gist is often even shorter and less formal.
- ✓NOT like "fact" (one piece of information), gist is the overall meaning from many facts.
Try Other Words
- •Main point: the most important part (Use when you want to be clear about what is most important)
- •Essence: the basic meaning or most important quality (Use when talking about the core or heart of something)
- •Summary: a short version of information (Use when you want to explain the whole in fewer words)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: (no prefix or suffix; "gist" is a simple root word)
- •Etymology: From Old French "giste," meaning "it lies" or "it rests," referring to the main point lying within a text or speech
- •Historical development: Used since the 15th century to mean the main point or essence of a legal case or speech
- •Modern usage: Commonly used in everyday English to mean the main idea or central meaning of any message, spoken or written
Reflect & Connect
•How do you decide what the gist of a long story or text is?
•Can understanding the gist be enough in some situations, or do you always need all the details?
Fill in the blanks
1.When listening to a long explanation, I focus on the gist because ___ ___ ___ ___ ___.
2.She didn’t remember the exact words but understood the gist ___ ___ ___ ___ ___.
3.The gist of the meeting was ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___.
4.Unlike details, the gist gives you ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___.
5.To explain quickly, he gave me the gist ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___.
6.You can get the gist of a story even if you ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___.
7.When someone misses the gist, they usually ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___.