gel
Americannoun
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gels
plural
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Physical Chemistry. a semirigid colloidal dispersion of a solid with a liquid or gas, as jelly, glue, etc.
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Theater. gelatin.
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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)
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gels,
present (3rd person singular)
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gelled,
past participle, past
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gelling
present participle
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to form or become a gel.
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jell.
noun
verb
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to become or cause to become a gel
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a variant spelling of jell
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gelsimple
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gelssimple
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have gelledperfect
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has gelledperfect
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am gellingprogressive
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are gellingprogressive
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is gellingprogressive
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have been gellingperfect progressive
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has been gellingperfect progressive
Past
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gelledsimple
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had gelledperfect
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was gellingprogressive
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were gellingprogressive
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had been gellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gel
First recorded in 1895–1900; shortening of gelatin
Vocabulary lists containing gel
Theater - Middle School
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Theater - High School
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Vocabulary from Readings 3, Unit 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Testosterone therapy can be delivered through the application of a daily gel, weekly home injections, twice-a-day pills or an implanted pellet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Islander Chris Chadwick said he was against the application, saying: "It just didn't gel with me that they were going to cover a greenfield site with solar panels."
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Unlike conventional fluoride products, however, the new gel contains no fluoride.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
Burns specialists said the injuries caused by heated squishy toys can be particularly severe because the gel inside can remain extremely hot and get stuck to the skin, prolonging the burn.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
David searched through his knapsack, bringing out what looked like a tube of hair gel.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
Their team, which specialise in hydrogels, worked alongside Sawe to train him to absorb the 90-120 grams of carbohydrates included in the gels within an hour period without feeling distress.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
Currently there are no hormonal contraceptives for men although some gels and pills are being tested.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
The oldest millennials—the nation’s biggest generation—are entering their mid-40s and devouring a torrent of new supplements, lotions, pills, gels, books and podcasts devoted to menopause relief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026
"However, since the role of gels has been largely overlooked, we wanted to synthesize scattered studies into a cohesive narrative that puts primitive gels at the forefront of the discussion."
From Science Daily ● Feb. 11, 2026
And now Mustafa practically lives in the bathroom, shaves, gels his hair, and drowns in cologne.
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
The older players had a good relationship with Robins, but when Lampard arrived the younger members - who grew up watching him play for Chelsea and Manchester City - gelled with him quickly.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026
But when she arrives at Iona’s apartment, Andie is shocked to see that a coiffed perm, light makeup, a sensible suit and a string of pearls have replaced her friend’s beehives and gelled spikes.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2026
After treatment with dancing molecules, the gelled nanofiber scaffold reduced inflammation, shrank glial scarring, stimulated neurite extension, and encouraged neurons to grow in organized patterns.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2026
This type of car gelled much more naturally with Hamilton's driving style, which is to brake late and use the change in aerodynamic pressure to help rotate the car into the corner.
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2025
His hair is gelled in his messy style, and he’s freshly shaved.
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
Many vegan meat alternatives also use gelling agents that bind water and fat.
From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2024
A theme of Rangers' pre- and early season matches has been one of a team still gelling.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2023
But they are really gelling in a way that’s better than I could ever hope for.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2022
A unit that was overhauled in the offseason by free-agent signings and has taken time to develop chemistry due to injuries and inconsistency, may finally be gelling at just the right time.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2021
Now, as the skipper was a very sharp fellow, and perfectly understood his business-practically anticipating the Transatlantic axiom of buying at the cheapest market and gelling at the dearest-he soon contrived to grow rich.
From The Star-Chamber, Volume 1 An Historical Romance by Ainsworth, William Harrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
