gel

[ jel ]

noun

1. Physical Chemistry. a semirigid colloidal dispersion of a solid with a liquid or gas, as jelly, glue, etc.
2. Theater. gelatin ( def 5 ).
3. Biochemistry. a semirigid polymer, as agarose, starch, cellulose acetate, or polyacrylamide, cast into slabs or cylinders for the electrophoretic separation of proteins and nucleic acids.

verb (used without object)

, gelled, gel·ling.

1. to form or become a gel.
2. jell ( def 2 ).

gel

/ dʒɛl /

noun

1. a semirigid jelly-like colloid in which a liquid is dispersed in a solid

   nondrip paint is a gel

2. See hair gel
3. informal.
   theatre See gelatine

verb

1. to become or cause to become a gel
2. a variant spelling of jell

Other Words From

• de·gel verb (used with object) degelled degelling
• non·gelling adjective
• re·gel verb (used without object) regelled regelling

Word History and Origins

Origin of gel¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; shortening of gelatin

Word History and Origins

Origin of gel¹

C19: by shortening from gelatine

Example Sentences

"I know what's important for me in this competition, that the girls find a way to gel and get on," said Keothavong.

From BBC

The gel can subsequently be heated to burn off the organic fragment.

From Science Daily

Norovirus is a stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhoea, and the germs cannot be killed with alcohol hand gel.

From BBC

How will Sir Keir Starmer, the former north London human rights lawyer, gel with the brash New York billionaire?

From BBC

After the 2016 election, once everyone recovered from the shock, the analyses of what happened started to gel into a conventional wisdom that argued Donald Trump won because a bunch of non-college-educated white people felt "economic anxiety."

From Salon

Related Words

• clot
• condense
• congeal
• curdle
• swell