jelly
sweet fruit-flavored spread
A sweet, soft food made from fruit juice and sugar that you put on bread or in sandwiches.
[someone] puts jelly on [something]
- She spread grape jelly on her toast for breakfast.
- I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.
- This jelly is too sweet; I prefer something more tart.
- They sell homemade apple jelly at the farmers' market.
- He twisted open the jar of jelly and scooped some out with a knife.
- I like to eat bread with jelly in the morning.
- She put peanut butter and jelly on the same slice of bread.
- Can you buy a small jar of strawberry jelly?
- He does not want butter; he only wants jelly on his toast.
sweet wobbly gelatin dessert
A sweet, colorful dessert made from gelatin and water that becomes a soft, shaking solid when it is cold.
[someone] eats jelly for dessert
- The children ate strawberry jelly and ice cream at the party.
- She tipped the jelly out of the mold, and it wobbled on the plate.
- I bought a packet of orange jelly to make for dessert tonight.
- He doesn't like jelly because of its strange texture.
- The jelly didn't set properly and stayed runny.
- The red jelly on the plate moves when I touch it.
- My son loves jelly with ice cream.
- We made green jelly for the school party.
- The jelly is too soft; I think I used too much water.
soft, wobbly semi-solid substance
A soft, thick material that is not liquid but not hard, and that moves or shakes when you touch it.
[something] is a jelly-like [substance]
- A clear jelly covered the fish on the plate.
- The scientist placed the bacteria in a nutrient jelly.
- The cream turns into a cooling jelly when you rub it on your skin.
- The mixture should thicken to a soft jelly before you pour it into the mold.
- They used a blue jelly to style his hair into spikes.
- There was a soft jelly on top of the meat.
- The cream feels like a cold jelly on my face.
- The substance is not hard; it is a kind of jelly.
- She put a clear jelly in her hair to keep it in place.
to set or turn into jelly
To change, or make something change, so that it is no longer liquid but is soft and moves like jelly.
[a liquid] jellies / [someone] jellies [something]
- Let the mixture cool so it can jelly properly.
- The sauce jellied as it sat in the refrigerator overnight.
- If the stock doesn't jelly, you may need to boil it longer.
- The liquid quickly jellied into a thick mass.
- As it cools, the broth will jelly and become easier to slice.
- Put the dessert in the fridge so it can jelly.
- The soup will jelly when it is cold.
- The sauce did not jelly, so it stayed thin.
- After two hours, the liquid jellied and became thick.
very weak, shaky state
A feeling that your legs or body are very weak and shaking, usually because you are afraid or very surprised.
[someone]'s [body part] is jelly
- His legs were jelly after he saw how high up they were.
- By the time she finished the race, her knees were jelly.
- My arms turned to jelly when I put the heavy box down.
- The sight of the accident turned my stomach to jelly.
- After the roller coaster, I felt like jelly and had to sit down.
- After the long run, my legs were like jelly.
- When I speak on stage, my knees are jelly.
- He was so afraid that his legs turned to jelly.
- After the ride, I felt like jelly and could not walk well.
slang for feeling jealous
Very informal: jealous of what another person has or can do.
[someone] is jelly of [someone/something]
- I'm so jelly of your vacation photos.
- She posted a picture of her new car, and now everyone's jelly.
- Not gonna lie, I'm kinda jelly of his promotion.
- You got concert tickets? I'm seriously jelly right now.
- They were low-key jelly of their friends’ big house.
- I am so jelly of your new phone.
- He said he was jelly because she got the job.
- My friends are jelly of my trip to Japan.
- She is jelly of his good test score.
- Base: jelly
- Plural: jellies, jelly
jelly baby
1small soft person-shaped candy
A small, soft candy made from jelly and sugar, usually shaped like a tiny person, common in the UK.
- He bought a packet of jelly babies at the corner shop.
- The children fought over the last red jelly baby.
- She offered him a jelly baby from the bag.
jelly bean
1small bean-shaped jelly candy
A small candy shaped like a bean, with a soft, sweet center and a hard outside.
- The children shared a bag of jelly beans on the bus.
- She picked out all the red jelly beans because they were her favorite.
- He spilled jelly beans all over the floor.
jelly roll
1rolled cake with jelly filling
A dessert made from a thin cake that is spread with jelly or cream and then rolled up into a log.
- For dessert, she served a homemade jelly roll.
- He learned how to bake a jelly roll in his cooking class.
- The bakery had a chocolate jelly roll in the window.
jelly shoes
1soft plastic sandals or shoes
Light shoes, often sandals, made from soft, usually clear or colored plastic that looks a bit like jelly.
- She wore pink jelly shoes to the beach.
- Jelly shoes became popular again in the summer.
- The child's jelly shoes were easy to wash after playing outside.
legs like jelly
1legs feel extremely weak
Used to say that your legs feel very weak and shaking, so it is hard to stand or walk normally.
- After running up the stairs, my legs were like jelly.
- Her legs felt like jelly when she stepped onto the stage.
- He was so nervous that his legs were like jelly.
like jelly
1having a very wobbly texture
Used to describe something that shakes and moves easily when you touch it, like jelly.
- The pudding was so soft it was like jelly.
- His hands were shaking like jelly.
- The ground felt like jelly during the earthquake.
peanut butter and jelly sandwich
1sandwich with peanut butter and jelly
A sandwich made with bread, peanut butter, and jelly, very common in the United States.
- He eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich almost every day.
- I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the picnic.
- For a quick snack, she fixed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
turn to jelly
1to suddenly feel very weak
To suddenly feel very weak and shaky, especially in your legs, usually because you are afraid, shocked, or very tired.
- My legs turned to jelly when I looked down from the top of the building.
- His arms turned to jelly after the long workout.
- When she heard the bad news, her knees turned to jelly.
peanut butter and jelly
1sandwich with peanut butter and jelly
A sandwich or filling made with peanut butter and a sweet fruit spread, usually eaten on bread.
- She packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.
- She packed a peanut butter and jelly for lunch.
- As a kid, he ate peanut butter and jelly almost every day.
- Many American children grow up eating peanut butter and jelly.
- We made peanut butter and jelly for the picnic.
- We made peanut butter and jelly on whole-wheat bread.
petroleum jelly
1skin ointment from petroleum
A soft, thick substance made from petroleum that people put on dry or hurt skin to protect or soften it.
- She put petroleum jelly on her lips to stop them from drying out.
- She put petroleum jelly on her dry lips.
- Petroleum jelly is often used to protect the skin from cold weather.
- Doctors sometimes use petroleum jelly to protect the skin under a bandage.
- The doctor recommended using a thin layer of petroleum jelly on the cut.
- He rubbed a little petroleum jelly on the cut to keep it from drying out.