gel
Americannoun
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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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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:
When the powder comes into contact with blood, it reacts with cations such as calcium and transforms into a gel in about one second, rapidly sealing the wound.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 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
They said that caffeine could affect the results, and gel interferes with the electrodes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Simvastatin was added to the gel at concentrations of 0.3%, 0.6%, and 1.2%.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
Hair gel, perfume, aftershave, and a hint of shoe polish almost knocked me over.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
UV light is used for air purification, curing resins in 3D printing, hardening gels in dental fillings, and even applications such as nail treatments.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
Different gels and drinks will be offered to different players.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 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
It typically consists of taking estradiol—delivered through pills, patches, gels and sprays—often given in combination with oral progesterone to reduce the risk of uterine cancer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 16, 2025
“They’ll also have energy gels for you at the water stops,” he told me.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
Russell admitted that the "pace was really, really poor on my side", and that he has never gelled with the Miami circuit and its low-grip surface and slow corners.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
“I can’t recall a group like that, that gelled so quickly, that I’ve ever worked on before. It was a really fast-clicking ensemble,” Laurie Metcalf says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 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
It lies flat back, gelled smooth with Vaseline.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
Farmhouses across the nation practically required at least one of the long-lived trees because of quinces’ natural pectin, an important gelling ingredient in preserves.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 31, 2023
The gummy section covers various gelling agents like gelatin, agar agar, pectin and tapioca starch.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2022
But seaweed-derived gelling agents such as carrageenan and agar, Dr. Gravelle added, don’t offer the same luxe texture and broad spectrum of uses as their animal-derived counterparts.
From New York Times ● Aug. 2, 2022
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 method according to claim 2 wherein said gelling 65 agent is present in an amount in the range of from about 3 to about 10 weight percent.
From U.S. Patent 4,293,314: Gelled Fuel-Air Explosive October 6, 1981. by Stull, Bertram O.
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.
