phrasal verb · neutral
get the gist (of)
/ɡet ðə ɡɪst/GIST
speakingtask2
to understand the main point or the general meaning
Examples
“After skimming the article I could get the gist, even if I missed some details.”
“In the listening test you don't always need every detail — often you just have to get the gist.”
“She read quickly to get the gist before the discussion.”
Band 8 sentence
“Although the presentation was highly technical, I could still get the gist and give a concise summary.”
Collocations
- get the gist of
- get the gist quickly
Word family
gist nounget verb
Common mistakes
take the gist→get the gist (of)
get gist of→get the gist (of)
Say it for a higher band
5understand→6figure out→7+get the gist (of)
Synonyms
grasp (the main idea)
catch the main idea
Easily confused
grasp
“I couldn't grasp the main argument of the lecture.”
Related words
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In get …
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