jelly

1 of 3

noun

jel·​ly ˈje-lē How to pronounce jelly (audio)
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
4
: a state of fear or irresolution
5
: a shapeless structureless mass : pulp
jellylike 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

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
More palatable rarities include pina colada, chocolate, peanut butter and jelly, and key lime pie. Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2024 The Supremes, Diana Ross & the Supremes Sidekicks to: Diana Ross Peanut butter and jelly. Ew Staff Updated, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2024 Royal jelly is thought to be effective in moisturizing (again, a humectant) and even said to boost collagen production thanks to a hyper-specific acid (10-hydroxy-trans-2-decenoic, to be exact). Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 27 Feb. 2024 Goldstein whipped up a sheer jelly manicure with a genius mix of Chanel nail polishes. Kara Nesvig, Allure, 26 Feb. 2024 Letters, like the one written in 1795 by Massachusetts Rep. Theophilus Bradbury, reveal the volume of food produced under Posey’s command, like roast beef, veal, turkey, duck, puddings and jellies. Ramin Ganeshram, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024 The jelly cleanser gets down and dirty removing all of the grease and the day’s pollution from your face and helping your skin glow. Mia Meltzer, Rolling Stone, 16 Feb. 2024 Tower 28's lip jelly is by far the best lip oil in the game. Kiana Murden, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2024 Paczki are a plump and pillowy yeast pastries that are covered in a sweet glaze, powdered sugar-dusted or unglazed and filled with a filling of fruit jellies, or the traditional prune, custard or cream fillings. Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 13 Feb. 2024
Verb
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 From here, the longest run in the region is a leg-jellying 15 kilometer, 2,000-meter descent back down to Gaislachkogl. CNN, 26 Oct. 2017 And according to TMZ, Miller will be noshing this first week on jellied toast for breakfast, hamburgers and fruit for lunch, sandwiches and wraps for dinner, and weekend meals of sloppy Joes and tacos. Diana Pearl, PEOPLE.com, 12 July 2017 Meanwhile their neighbors engaged in a range of menial tasks, including gluing together matchbooks by hand and selling vintage snacks (jellied eel, anyone?) from street carts. Meredith Blake, latimes.com, 15 May 2017
Adjective
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are available for children as well. Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 28 Sep. 2023 Although a lot of us were pretty young back then, put yourself back in those jelly sandals and try to feel your younger self's vibes. Elizabeth Gulino, refinery29.com, 28 Sep. 2023 It is crowded into a cast-iron casserole with a tawny pool of gravy, almost as sticky as jelly, and flaky roasted potatoes that have been joined together with big chips of fried Parmesan. Pete Wells, New York Times, 5 Dec. 2023 Yes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will keep you alive if the power goes out. Carlos Frías, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 In addition, a case of candy is included with a plentiful supply of jelly candies, peppermints, red vines, and more. Nicole Pyles, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Dec. 2023 If you are overwhelmed by fruits, juice them to make jelly or pomegranate molasses, remove the seeds and freeze them to cook with later, and/or share fruits with friends. Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Oct. 2023 This week the internet is buzzing with jelly sandal content. Irene Kim, Vogue, 27 July 2023 What Do Astronauts Eat in Space Instead? Don’t worry, astronauts can still have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Donna Sarkar, Discover Magazine, 2 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jelly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of jelly was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near jelly

Cite this Entry

“Jelly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jelly. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

jelly

1 of 2 noun
jel·​ly ˈjel-ē How to pronounce jelly (audio)
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 adjective

jelly

2 of 2 verb
jellied; jellying

Medical Definition

jelly

noun
jel·​ly ˈjel-ē How to pronounce jelly (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on jelly

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