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Definition of "gesture" []

  • A motion of the limbs or body made to express or help express thought or to emphasize speech. (noun)
  • The act of moving the limbs or body as an expression of thought or emphasis. (noun)
  • An act or a remark made as a formality or as a sign of intention or attitude: sent flowers as a gesture of sympathy. (noun)
  • To make gestures. (verb-intransitive)
  • To show, express, or direct by gestures. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "gesture" in a sentence
  • "; if gesture points to a variable, send its contents as keystrokes if (% gesture%)"
  • "Emphasis in gesture is just as inartistic – and therefore ineffective – as emphasis in tone or language."
  • "Massera served less than five years in prison before then-President Carlos Menem granted him and other coup leaders amnesty in what he called a gesture of reconciliation."