gesture at vs gesture to

Both 'gesture at' and 'gesture to' are correct phrases, but they are used in slightly different contexts. 'Gesture at' is used when someone is indicating or pointing towards something or someone, while 'gesture to' is used when someone is making a gesture in the direction of someone or something.

Last updated: March 26, 2024 • 1133 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"gesture at"

This phrase is used when someone is indicating or pointing towards something or someone. It implies a more general direction or area.

Examples:

He gestured at the map to show me where we were.
She gestured at the sky to indicate the approaching storm.

Show examples from the web [+]

I remember your friendly gesture at the time.
I understand your feelings, but a symbolic gesture at this point would be foolish and unnecessary.
I have not seen any gesture at all from Northern Cyprus of course, nor from Turkey either.
Mr President, Mr Gollnisch has just made an impolite gesture at me.
This is why I am also categorically opposed to the sale of chocolate cigarettes or liquorice pipes: mimicking a gesture at the age of 5 carries a risk of registering it and getting used to it.
I remember your friendly gesture at the time.
Makes rude gestures at people doing their socialist duties.
First they made gestures at me.
Mr President, we have seen many gestures - at Essen, Madrid and Florence - on tackling unemployment and using structural funds for new initiatives on territorial pacts for employment.
A violent gesture, at first it frightened me.
And the score for the piece looks like this, and it instructs me, the performer, to make various hand gestures at very specific times synchronized with an audio tape, and that audio tape is made up exclusively of vocal samples.
You can't keep trying to make everything work out with some big gesture all at once.
Also symptomatic of this are the USA's threatening gestures directed at Baghdad, which are not always credible.
The re-opening of the Somali embassy in Brussels in 2010, thanks to EU support provided through the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), was an additional important gesture aimed at stepping up EU relations with Somalia.
It may seem silly, but there is something tenuous that joins us all and we can make it better or worse according to how we act. We can save or destroy so much with a simple gesture that at times seems utterly useless.
But... this is the only meaningful gesture I can make at this point.
He believed this gesture, though symbolic at the time, may have contributed, "and with some considerable foresight", to the ultimate success of Latvia's "singing revolution".
Or maybe even the $2 mouse gesture system at that time was costing around $5,000?
Since the military coup in Mauritania the junta has made no gesture hinting at a genuine return to the rule of law, a restoration of democracy and the release of political prisoners, who include the democratically elected president of Mauritania.
Our grand gesture ruined, destroyed, decimated.

Alternatives:

point at
indicate
motion towards

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"gesture to"

This phrase is used when someone is making a gesture in the direction of someone or something. It implies a more specific target or recipient.

Examples:

He gestured to the waiter to bring the check.
She gestured to the empty seat next to her.

Show examples from the web [+]

A small gesture to our customers.
It's just a small gesture to brighten his day.
And, you know, it might be a nice gesture to the other nominees, who we should invite.
Our task is to make a gesture to the ladies, to show them that it is their dreams which The Paradise caters for.
'But as a gesture to the British people, whose faith I can only hope to restore one day...
This is a gesture to the Council, it is a compromise position and I expect, today, an equally ambitious position from the Council.
It's a gesture to show how much I appreciate What you did for my emma.
Because he wants to make a grand gesture to show how much he cares about her.
That's the only explanation for your big sudden gesture to Jake.
Just a little gesture to let you know I've been thinking about you, and I think you should accept it in the spirit of friendship with which it was given.
Make a grand gesture to help win Dana back for my little boy!
This... this is all some grand gesture to earn my forgiveness before you're too far gone to care?
Nothing like a melodramatic gesture to solve everything.
Don't gesture to me like that. It's misleading.
Some kind of desperate gesture to earn my wife's forgiveness.
There is a need for a more powerful political gesture to exorcise past misdeeds.
I would hate for my careless gesture to spoil our fine romance.
Mr Goepel here is making a gesture to indicate money.
Don, it's a lovely gesture to make to your guest.
Turns out I was the predictable one, rooting for Gabby's gesture to fall flat.

Alternatives:

signal to
motion to
beckon to

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gesture at vs gesture to

"gesture at"

"gesture to"

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