jelly

[ jel-ee ]

noun

, plural jel·lies.

1. a food preparation of a soft, elastic consistency due to the presence of gelatin, pectin, etc., especially fruit juice boiled down with sugar and used as a sweet spread for bread and toast, as a filling for cakes or doughnuts, etc.
2. any substance having the consistency of jelly.
3. Chiefly British. a fruit-flavored gelatin dessert.
4. a plastic sandal or shoe.

verb (used with or without object)

, jel·lied, jel·ly·ing.

1. to bring or come to the consistency of jelly.

adjective

1. containing or made, spread, or topped with jelly or syrup; jellied:

   jelly apples.

jelly

¹

/ ˈdʒɛlɪ /

noun

1. See gelignite
   a slang name for gelignite

jelly

²

/ ˈdʒɛlɪ /

noun

1. a fruit-flavoured clear dessert set with gelatine US and Canadian trademarkJell-o
2. a preserve made from the juice of fruit boiled with sugar and used as jam
3. a savoury food preparation set with gelatine or with a strong gelatinous stock and having a soft elastic consistency

   calf's-foot jelly

4. anything having the consistency of jelly
5. informal.
   a coloured gelatine filter that can be fitted in front of a stage or studio light

verb

1. to jellify

Derived Forms

• ˈjelly-ˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• jelly·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of jelly¹

1350–1400; Middle English gely < Old French gelee frozen jelly < Medieval Latin gelāta frozen, equivalent to Latin gel- freeze + -āta -ate ¹; gel, cold

Word History and Origins

Origin of jelly¹

C14: from Old French gelee frost, jelly, from geler to set hard, from Latin gelāre, from gelu frost

Example Sentences

The dinner also came with a kind of red jelly and some beans mixed with mayonnaise.

From Washington Blade

These little jelly beans then develop their eyes, back limbs, and a decent chunk of their immune system after they’re already out in the world.

From MIT Technology Review

I ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast and free staff meals for lunch.

From Outside Online

The bloody-belly comb jelly’s bright red color may make it easy for remotely operated vehicles with lights and cameras to spot it, but its color actually helps it hide from predators.

From Nautilus

Peanut butter and jelly doesn’t take me back to third-grade bagged lunches or after-school snacks.

From Eater

Roll the pork over the stuffing, like a jelly roll, until the seam is facing down and the fat back is on top.

From The Daily Beast

The second upped the ante, taking aim at “cray,” “jelly,” “literally,” “teehee,” and “totes.”

From The Daily Beast

On it are balanced a plate of eggs and toast, an open quart jar of grape jelly, and a beer mug full to the brim with orange juice.

From The Daily Beast

Puddings were treats for birthdays and special occasions: chocolate cake, or jelly and ice-cream.

From The Daily Beast

Available for both iOS and Android, Jelly is definitely worth playing around with this weekend.

From The Daily Beast

When the machinery had been stopped, it was found that Mr. Jones's arms and legs were macerated to a jelly.

From Project Gutenberg

Treated with hydrochloric acid, diluted with ten times its weight of water, it swells up into a jelly-like mass.

From Project Gutenberg

I wanted you to make calls with me and to help me with the currant jelly and to put those button-holes into my linen wrapper.

From Project Gutenberg

I learned how to make jelly from her old colored mammie, and heaps of things beside.

From Project Gutenberg

I took that jelly to a crotchety old patient of mine who is boarding, and reviles all the jelly his nurse buys for him.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• gelatin