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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
Staff Reports, The Arizona Republic, 6 Aug. 2024
Conveniently for capitalists like Ogden, dunes seemed to replenish themselves with every gust of wind.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 July 2024
Lines around the Mill and Smith blazes are expected to be fortified throughout the day Wednesday, but wind gusts may threaten these efforts, Freeman said.
—Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 24 July 2024
Larger pots also have more mass, saving tall climbing mandevillas from tipping over in a gust of wind.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for gust 
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 Aug. 2024.
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