gel

[ jel ]

/ dʒɛl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Physical Chemistry. a semirigid colloidal dispersion of a solid with a liquid or gas, as jelly, glue, etc.

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.

to form or become a gel.

jell(def 2).

Nearby words

geikie, geisel, geisha, geissler tube, geitonogamy, gel, gel diffusion precipitin test, gel electrophoresis, gel mineral, gel pen, gela

Origin of gel

First recorded in 1895–1900; shortening of gelatin

Related forms

de·gel, verb (used with object), de·gelled, de·gel·ling.non·gel·ling, adjectivere·gel, verb (used without object), re·gelled, re·gel·ling.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gel

My stranger-friend left the room to let the gel mask sit on my face for a bit.
I Got a $180 Bird-Poop Facial|Kelsey Meany|August 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Wilkinson says the gel combats the “I had a run-in with a can of paint” defense.
High-Tech Anti-Riot Gear|Sam Bungey|August 14, 2011|DAILY BEAST
But waiting for a draft-Clark movement to gel turned out to be problematic.
Mitch Daniels' Hamlet Complex|Jill Lawrence|May 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The first step is to gel your hair and hit the gym to work on your fitness.
9 Great Jersey Shore Moments|Sujay Kumar, The Daily Beast Video|July 28, 2010|DAILY BEAST

The glint of a gel's eye was too much for him, he sold himself for her—body and soul he sold himself for her.
A Life For a Love|L. T. Meade
You'll let the lad out, and you'll wed my gel, and you'll give me my share of the siller.
A Girl of the People|L. T. Meade
"You takes it mighty cool for one who wants the gel yourself," said Granger, who felt ready to dance with vexation.
A Girl of the People|L. T. Meade
Further, lyotrope influences can never strengthen a gel very much, but may and often do weaken it very considerably.
Animal Proteins|Hugh Garner Bennett
A gel as can keep a nors-end-kerridge down on the cold kitchen stones!
The Grey Wig: Stories and Novelettes|Israel Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for gel

gel

/ (dʒɛl) /

noun

a semirigid jelly-like colloid in which a liquid is dispersed in a solidnondrip paint is a gel

See hair gel

theatre informal See gelatine (def. 4)

verb gels, gelling or gelled

to become or cause to become a gel

a variant spelling of jell

Word Origin for gel

C19: by shortening from gelatine

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for gel

gel

[ jĕl ]

n.

A colloid in which the disperse phase combines with the dispersion medium to produce a semisolid material.

v.

To become a gel.

To convert a sol into a gel.