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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.
Synonyms
Examples of gust in a Sentence
Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 13 May 2024
The executive order said tornadoes and strong wind gusts significantly damaged critical infrastructure, including homes, businesses and powerlines.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 10 May 2024
North wind 8 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
—Ray Padilla, The Courier-Journal, 8 May 2024
Winds with gusts up to 30 mph will be possible in the afternoon.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 7 May 2024
Southwest wind 6 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 7 May 2024
The forecast for Monday and Tuesday promises to bring more strong gusts in smaller pockets of the region.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2024
The strongest storms could produce wind gusts up to 50 mph and small hail.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 2 May 2024
Indeed, just before 5:30 p.m., when guests were set to arrive at the Echo Park hilltop home that Kramer, 38, shares with her partner, the comedian Emil DeRosa, 34, and their goldendoodle, Kevin, the gusts subsided and the gray skies gave way to a golden sunset.
—Jean Trinh, New York Times, 2 May 2024
Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 15 May 2024
Southeast wind will gust 5-10 mph through the night.
—Kira Caspers, The Arizona Republic, 12 May 2024
At least 13 tornadoes were reported across Kansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, South Dakota and Missouri in the last 24 hours, with more than 350 damaging storm reports from Kansas to the Carolinas, including hail larger than a softball in Missouri and wind gusts up to 72 mph in Indiana.
—Max Golembo, ABC News, 9 May 2024
Winds may gust close up to 30 knots Saturday afternoon.
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 9 May 2024
In a tweet Monday night, meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Kansas City said tornadoes are possible, and wind gusts up to 75 mph and hail the size of ping pong balls are likely.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 6 May 2024
Dry, breezy days make allergy conditions worse, as wind gusts aid in spreading more of the tiny pollen granules.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 13 May 2024
Rain may continue tonight with a 30% chance of precipitation, mainly before 7 p.m. Tonight will hit a low of 45 degrees and gusts up to 22 mph may clear cloud coverage.
—Julianna O'Clair, The Denver Post, 12 May 2024
The system is expected to bring storms to the Milwaukee area with strong wind gusts up to 40 to 45 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.
—Journal Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gust.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Gust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gust. Accessed 19 May. 2024.
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