jelly
Americannoun
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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.
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any substance having the consistency of jelly.
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Chiefly British. a fruit-flavored gelatin dessert.
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a plastic sandal or shoe.
verb (used with or without object)
adjective
noun
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US and Canadian trademark: Jell-o. a fruit-flavoured clear dessert set with gelatine
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a preserve made from the juice of fruit boiled with sugar and used as jam
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a savoury food preparation set with gelatine or with a strong gelatinous stock and having a soft elastic consistency
calf's-foot jelly
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anything having the consistency of jelly
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informal a coloured gelatine filter that can be fitted in front of a stage or studio light
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of jelly
1350–1400; Middle English gely < Old French gelee frozen jelly < Medieval Latin gelāta frozen, equivalent to Latin gel- freeze + -āta -ate 1; cf. gel, cold
Explanation
Jelly is a sweet preserved form of fruit that's usually made with sugar. Your favorite breakfast might be buttered toast spread thickly with strawberry jelly. Jelly is the close relative to jam and preserves — jelly is typically more translucent than its fruitier cousins, and is sometimes made with juice rather than whole pieces of fruit. Outside of North America, jelly is a dessert made from gelatin. Jelly comes from the Old French gelee, "jelly" and also "frost," from the verb geler, "to congeal," with its Latin root gelare, "to freeze."
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.
Others include jugged hare and flummery - an oat-based fermented jelly, associated with farmhouse production and poverty.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
"Hydrogels resemble jelly, making them difficult to shape," says ETH Professor Qin.
From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026
His latest report spotlights one manager’s use of a state-owned Ford F-150, with maps of 47 questioned trips and details of purchases like black jelly beans and Wyatt Earp whiskey.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
Jelly Belly is known for making more than 100 flavors of jelly beans.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026
“Ugh, now I have jelly bean slime on me.”
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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.
