gesture

CEFRB2

/ˈd͡ʒɛs.t͡ʃə/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A movement that expresses an idea or feeling.

  2. 02

    verb

    To use a movement to express something.

Examples

  • He made a rude gesture at the driver of the other car.

  • The gesture fetched a laugh from the audience.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A motion made with a pointing device, or on a touchscreen, that is recognised by the system as a command.

  2. An act or a remark that serves as a formality or as a sign of attitude.

  3. A motion of the limbs or body, especially one made to emphasize speech.

More examples

In context

  • We communicated with each other by gesture.

  • The middle-finger gesture is really a nonverbal swear.

  • This Web browser can be controlled with mouse gestures.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

She made a friendly blank by slowly waving her hand.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Medieval Latin gestūra (“a mode of action”), from Latin gerō (“to bear; (reflexive) bear oneself, behave, act”), past participle gestus. By surface analysis, Latin gest- + -ure.