jelly

1 of 3

noun

jel·​ly ˈje-lē 

plural jellies

1

: a soft somewhat elastic food product made usually with gelatin or pectin

especially : a fruit product made by boiling sugar and the juice of fruit

2

: a substance resembling jelly in consistency

3

: jellyfish

4

: a state of fear or irresolution

5

: a shapeless structureless mass : pulp

jellylike

ˈjē-lē-ˌlīk 

adjective

jelly

2 of 3

verb

jellied; jellying

intransitive verb

1

: jell

2

: to make jelly

transitive verb

: to bring to the consistency of jelly

jelly

3 of 3

adjective

slang

: jealous

"I'm jelly," declared Jon Osborne of Pardi's white, sparkly jacket, complete with flowers …

—Taylor Weatherby

Synonyms

Verb

• gel
• freeze

Examples of jelly in a Sentence

Noun

a selection of different jellies and jams

He spread some jelly on his toast.

a jar of grape jelly

a peanut butter and jelly sandwich

a meat glaze made with stock and jelly

Verb

this fruit juice is taking longer to jelly than I expected

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Country Store sells a collection of fall decorating items, delicious jams, jellies and honey, farm toys and more, while concessions classics like BBQ and hamburgers plus fall favorites like pumpkin fudge and funnel cakes can be found at the Food Depot. —Katie Nixon, Nashville Tennessean, 22 Oct. 2025

Jars of jelly had crystallized. —Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025

Verb

Small Batch is one of the few businesses in the region taking a chance on jellying the fruit, despite seeing little interest. —Tribune News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 June 2025

The depths are a swirl of tapioca, agar-agar and basil seeds like a hundred tiny eyes, jellied on the outside with a crunch within. —Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 24 May 2018

Adjective

Skip the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on your trip to Big Sur and get lunch at Nepenthe instead. —Cu Fleshman, Travel + Leisure, 26 July 2025

Guava Spread Guava spread the color of pink jelly sandals, an adorable summer addition. —Alex Beggs, Bon Appetit Magazine, 19 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English gelly, from Anglo-French gelee, from feminine of gelé, past participle of geler to freeze, congeal, from Latin gelare — more at cold

Adjective

jeal(ous) + -y entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1590, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Adjective

1931, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing jelly

• box jelly
• calf's-foot jelly
• comb jelly
• jelly baby
• jelly bean
• jelly roll
• petroleum jelly
• royal jelly

Rhymes for jelly

• belly
• deli
• felly
• kellie
• melly
• nellie
• nelly
• shelly
• skelly
• smellie
• smelly
• tele

Kids Definition

jelly

1 of 2 noun

jel·​ly ˈjel-ē 

plural jellies

1

: a food with a soft elastic consistency due usually to gelatin or pectin

especially : a fruit product made by boiling sugar and the juice of fruit

2

: a substance resembling jelly

jellylike

-ē-ˌlīk 

adjective

jelly

2 of 2 verb

jellied; jellying

: jell sense 1

Medical Definition

jelly

noun

jel·​ly ˈjel-ē 

plural jellies

1

: a soft somewhat elastic food product made usually with gelatin or pectin

especially : a fruit product made by boiling sugar and the juice of fruit

2

: a substance resembling jelly in consistency: as

a

: a transparent elastic gel

b

: a semisolid medicated or cosmetic preparation often having a gum base and usually intended for local application

ephedrine jelly

c

: a jellylike preparation used in electrocardiography to obtain better conduction of electricity

electrode jelly