A touch-based gesture interface is provided. An initial point of contact for a touch made on a touch-screen surface is associated with a reference value. If the initial contact is sustained before release, directional axis changes for the touch are noted until the contact is released to identify a gesture-based touch input. The directional axis changes associated with the gesture-based touch input are translated into a key entry based on the directional axis changes made relative to the reference value. If the initial contact is released with no directional axis movement/changes, the key entry is assigned to the reference value for the gesture-based touch input. In an embodiment, two successive touches with no directional axis movement/changes made within a threshold period of time is identified as a cancel key.