jelly

1 of 3

noun

jel·​ly ˈje-lē 

plural jellies

1

: a soft somewhat elastic food product made usually with gelatin or pectin

especially : a fruit product made by boiling sugar and the juice of fruit

2

: a substance resembling jelly in consistency

3

: jellyfish

4

: a state of fear or irresolution

5

: a shapeless structureless mass : pulp

jellylike

ˈjē-lē-ˌlīk 

adjective

jelly

2 of 3

verb

jellied; jellying

intransitive verb

1

: jell

2

: to make jelly

transitive verb

: to bring to the consistency of jelly

jelly

3 of 3

adjective

slang

: jealous

"I'm jelly," declared Jon Osborne of Pardi's white, sparkly jacket, complete with flowers …

—Taylor Weatherby

Synonyms

Verb

• clot
• coagulate
• congeal
• gel
• gelate
• gelatinize
• jell
• set

Examples of jelly in a Sentence

Noun

a selection of different jellies and jams

He spread some jelly on his toast.

a jar of grape jelly

a peanut butter and jelly sandwich

a meat glaze made with stock and jelly

Verb

this fruit juice is taking longer to jelly than I expected

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Wrigley Field is pitching more than 50 new revolving dishes in its 2025 concession lineup, including a fun injectable doughnut with tubes of strawberry or blueberry jelly. —Monica Eng, Axios, 2 Apr. 2025

This reimagined recipe ditches the grape jelly in favor of brown sugar and molasses for that sweetness. —Jenna Sims, Southern Living, 27 Mar. 2025

Verb

The depths are a swirl of tapioca, agar-agar and basil seeds like a hundred tiny eyes, jellied on the outside with a crunch within. —Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 24 May 2018

From here, the longest run in the region is a leg-jellying 15 kilometer, 2,000-meter descent back down to Gaislachkogl. —CNN, 26 Oct. 2017

Adjective

Glass nails are meant to add a reflective mirror quality to nails, which can be captured with glazed, pearly, cat-eye, or jelly nail colors that give a little something extra to your usual neutral or other go-to shades. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 21 Mar. 2025

This jelly formula has that same bouncy vibe, delivering serious hydration with ingredients like jojoba seed oil. —Allure Editors, Allure, 1 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English gelly, from Anglo-French gelee, from feminine of gelé, past participle of geler to freeze, congeal, from Latin gelare — more at cold

Adjective

jeal(ous) + -y entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1590, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Adjective

1931, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing jelly

• box jelly
• calf's-foot jelly
• comb jelly
• jelly baby
• jelly bean
• jelly roll
• petroleum jelly
• royal jelly

Rhymes for jelly

• belly
• deli
• felly
• kellie
• melly
• nellie
• nelly
• shelly
• skelly
• smellie
• smelly
• tele

Kids Definition

jelly

1 of 2 noun

jel·​ly ˈjel-ē 

plural jellies

1

: a food with a soft elastic consistency due usually to gelatin or pectin

especially : a fruit product made by boiling sugar and the juice of fruit

2

: a substance resembling jelly

jellylike

-ē-ˌlīk 

adjective

jelly

2 of 2 verb

jellied; jellying

: jell sense 1

Medical Definition

jelly

noun

jel·​ly ˈjel-ē 

plural jellies

1

: a soft somewhat elastic food product made usually with gelatin or pectin

especially : a fruit product made by boiling sugar and the juice of fruit

2

: a substance resembling jelly in consistency: as

a

: a transparent elastic gel

b

: a semisolid medicated or cosmetic preparation often having a gum base and usually intended for local application

ephedrine jelly

c

: a jellylike preparation used in electrocardiography to obtain better conduction of electricity

electrode jelly