jelly
Americannoun
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jellies
plural
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
When they conceded again three minutes into the second half, there were a few jelly legs on show.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
I have to shampoo and condition like three times and then the next day there are still pieces of my hair that are like jelly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Everyone has a different jar of jelly beans with which to make their calculations.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
Maybe it’s homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made on pillowy Wonder Bread, with the crusts cut off.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
“Who is Haazim Farooqi? And what’s this about jelly beans?”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
Warmer ocean temperatures can also increase the presence of sea jellies and other gelatinous creatures, Jaros said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
This coordination allows comb jellies to maintain their orientation as they move through the water.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2026
Marine life that most people never see floated into view, including delicate comb jellies with pulsing fairy-light illuminations along their sides.
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
Fancy cocktail napkins are a big seller, as are specialty jellies in flavors like hot pepper and cinnamon pear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025
I found her shaking hands by Miss Esther’s homemade jams and jellies booth.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
The now elusive species was once common and frequently caught in the River Thames to make eel pies and jellied eels.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
In the 19th century, children gobbled chiles and mutton and turnips and jellied pig’s brain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
There are close-ups of hands kneading dough, a snail sliming its way up a window and Cathy prodding a jellied fish with her finger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
Datasembly measured prices for russet potatoes, roasted turkey gravy, eight buttermilk biscuits, cut green beans, jellied cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie mix, frozen pastry pie shells, whipped topping and sweet corn.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
At which point he held up a mousetrap dangling the jellied mouse.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Yet it has caused one hell of a stir, jellying the jaded reserve of hardcore automotive journalists and hard-nose collectors alike.
From The Verge ● Feb. 2, 2016
In the meantime, our stomachs jellying and our necks burning, we listened, avoided each other’s eyes, and picked toe jam or whatever.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
A whole summer of jellying and juicing, she said, hadn’t made so much mess in the kitchen.
From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen
Baking and boiling and roasting and jellying went on in quantity, for Mrs. Starling was a great cook, and could do things in style when she chose.
From Diana by Susan Warner
Hot sugar helps to jellying quickly—and the more haste there, the lighter and brighter the result.
From Dishes & Beverages of the Old South by Martha McCulloch-Williams
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.
