gist

noun

ˈjist 

1

: the ground (see ground entry 1 sense 4a) of a legal action

2

: the main point or part : essence

the gist of an argument

Did you know?

The main point, overarching theme, essence—that’s gist in a nutshell. The gist of gist, if you will. The gist of a conversation, argument, story, or what-have-you is what we rely on when the actual words and details are only imperfectly recalled, inessential, or too voluminous to recount in their entirety. Gist was borrowed from the Anglo-French legal phrase laccion gist (“the action lies/is based [on]”) in the 17th century, and it was originally used in law as a term referring to the foundation or grounds for a legal action without which the action would not be legally sustainable.

Synonyms

• bottom line
• bull's-eye
• centerpiece
• core
• crux
• essence
• heart
• kernel
• keynote
• meat
• meat and potatoes
• net
• nub
• nubbin
• nucleus
• pith
• pivot
• point
• root
• sum

Examples of gist in a Sentence

Thus, Poulterers' Case gave rise to a doctrine which survives to this day: the gist of conspiracy is the agreement, and so the agreement is punishable even if its purpose was not achieved. —Wayne R. LaFave & Austin W. Scott, Jr., Criminal Law, (1972) 1986

… Einstein showed how time intervals depend on the motion of people and clocks doing the measuring. And that's the gist of relativity. —Alan Lightman, Science, January/February 1984

Dorothea told him that she had seen Lydgate, and recited the gist of her conversation with him about the Hospital. —George Eliot, Middlemarch, 1872

didn't catch every word between them, but heard enough to get the gist of the conversation

Recent Examples on the Web

In any case, the major gist is that AI can generate false or bizarre content. —Lance Eliot, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024

But the general gist was that President Trump, or then President Trump, was engaged in an almost holy mission against evil Democrats who were involved in everything from pedophilia to human trafficking to all sorts of other dark stuff. —Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 23 May 2024

The wild gist: Clark needs to be protected from her fellow players. —Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 11 June 2024

But the basic gist is that there are five points in the Earth-Sun system where the gravitational pull of the two bodies is effectively canceled out. —Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 19 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Anglo-French, it lies, from gisir to lie, ultimately from Latin jacēre — more at adjacent

First Known Use

1632, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing gist

• got the gist of
• the gist

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Kids Definition

gist

noun

ˈjist 

: the main point of a subject : drift

Legal Definition

gist

noun

ˈjist 

: the ground or foundation of a legal action without which it would not be sustainable

Etymology

Anglo-French, in the phrase laccion gist the action lies or is based (on), from gisir to lie (of process), from Old French gesir to lie, ultimately from Latin jacere