gust

1 of 3

noun (1)

1
obsolete
a
: the sensation of taste
2
: keen delight

gust

2 of 3

noun (2)

1
: a sudden brief rush of wind
2
: a sudden outburst : surge
a gust of emotion
gustily adverb
gustiness noun
gusty adjective

gust

3 of 3

verb

gusted; gusting; gusts

intransitive verb

: to blow in gusts
winds gusting up to 40 mph

Did you know?

Gust Beyond Wind

You're no doubt familiar with the simple gust that means "a brief burst of wind." At least a century and a half before that word first appeared in print in the late 16th century, however, a differently derived homograph came on the scene. The windy gust is probably derived from an Old Norse word gustr, whereas our older featured word (which is now considerably rarer than its look-alike) comes to us through Middle English from gustus, the Latin word for "taste." Gustus gave English another word as well. Gusto (which now usually means "zest" but can also mean "an individual or specific taste") comes to us from gustus by way of Italian.

Examples of gust in a Sentence

Noun (2) a gust tore her umbrella from her grip and blew it down the street the stressed-out coworker cried out with a gust of emotion that we had never witnessed before Verb The forecast calls for winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Heavy snow up to 2 inches is expected and wind gusts could hit 50 mph. Tanya Wildt, Detroit Free Press, 6 Dec. 2024 Stronger gusts could be equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane, in which wind strengths are measured between 74 and 95 mph. Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024
Verb
Power outages piling up like the snow because of heavy wet snow in New England and strong wind gusts over 50mph moving in later today. Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024 Winds may even gust over 40 mph on Thursday, per the report. Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 5 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for gust 

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English guste, from Latin gustus; akin to Latin gustare to taste — more at choose

Noun (2)

probably from Old Norse gustr; akin to Old High German gussa flood, and perhaps to Old English gēotan to pour — more at found

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

1594, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1813, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gust was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near gust

Cite this Entry

“Gust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gust. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

gust

noun
ˈgəst
1
: a sudden brief rush of wind
2
: a sudden outburst
a gust of anger
gusty
ˈgəs-tē
adjective

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