jelly

American  

[jel-ee] / ˈdʒɛl i /

noun

jellies plural

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.

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verb (used with or without object)

jellied, jellying

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 British  

/ ˈdʒɛlɪ /

noun

1. US and Canadian trademark: Jell-o.  a fruit-flavoured clear dessert set with gelatine

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

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verb

1. to jellify

jelly ² British  

/ ˈdʒɛlɪ /

noun

1. a slang name for gelignite

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Other Word Forms

• jelly-like
  adjective
• jellylike
  adjective

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

Major music companies BMG and Concord, which represent artists like Tina Turner and Jelly Roll, said they are merging to create the world’s fourth-largest music company.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026

The sensory mismatch — a coconut-flavored “potato” — is a little kid’s dream, like the Jelly Belly “Bean Boozled” pack or a cupcake that looks like a hamburger.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

Jelly Belly, the San Francisco Bay Area-based candy company that’s more than 150-years-old, is closing a corporate center in Fairfield and laying off 69 workers.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

The educational rock band Jelly of the Month Club along with guest musicians Charlie Brown, Lucy, Schroeder and Linus set up the show’s finale with a question: “Where’s that crazy dog?”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2026

Though Jelly Roll called a lot of his numbers ‘Blues’, we now know this as the beginning of a distinct genre of its own: jazz.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• gelatin