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PlainSpell

jelly

/ˈd͡ʒɛli/noun, verb, adjective

jelly is spelled J-E-L-L-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, jelly means “A dessert made by boiling gelatine (or a plant-based alternative such as agar or carrageenan), sugar and some flavouring (often derived from fruit)…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of jelly is jellies.

How many letters and syllables are in jelly?

Letters5: J-E-L-L-Y
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing5.9 times per million words; the 10,028th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is jelly?

Jelly appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce jelly?

  • US /ˈd͡ʒɛli/
  • Australia /ˈd͡ʒeli/
  • /ˈd͡ʒɛle/

Jelly has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-jelly.ogg, EN-AU_ck1_jelly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with jelly?

2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as jelly from its last stressed vowel (/ɛli/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of jelly

  • jellies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • jellying participle, present
  • jellied participle, past
  • more jelly comparative
  • most jelly superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does jelly mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    CommonwealthA dessert made by boiling gelatine (or a plant-based alternative such as agar or carrageenan), sugar and some flavouring (often derived from fruit) and allowing it to set.

    His mother prepared jelly for him and his friends for dessert.

  2. 2

    CanadaUSA clear or translucent fruit preserve, made from fruit juice and set using either naturally occurring, or added, pectin.

    Perfect jelly is of appetizing flavor; beautifully colored and translucent; tender enough to cut easily with a spoon, yet firm enough to hold its shape when turned from the glass.

  3. 3

    Clipping of jelly coconut.

  4. 4

    A savoury substance, derived from meat, that has the same texture as the dessert.

  5. 5

    Any substance or object having the consistency of the dessert or preserve.

    calf's-foot jelly

  6. 6

    A jellyfish.

  7. 7

    archaicslangA pretty girl; a girlfriend.

  8. 8

    USslangA large backside, especially a woman's.

  9. 9

    IndiaVitrified brick refuse used as metal in building roads.

verb

  1. 1

    To make into jelly.

  2. 2

    To preserve in jelly.

  3. 3

    To wiggle like jelly.

adjective

  1. 1

    slangJealous.

    "I think other people make rude comments because they're jelly [jealous] bro," Schroer said. "We're just showing our love to other people."

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Jelly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchgelée (dessert made by boiling gelatin), confiture (sweet gelatinous substance derived from fruit…), gros cul (large backside)
GermanGelee, Sulz, Wackelpudding, Wackelpeter, Götterspeise (dessert made by boiling gelatin), Marmelade (sweet gelatinous substance derived from fruit…)
Portuguesegelatina (dessert made by boiling gelatin), doce, chimia, geleia (sweet gelatinous substance derived from fruit…), mocotó (meat dish)
Spanishjalea, jaletina, yeli (dessert made by boiling gelatin), confitura (sweet gelatinous substance derived from fruit…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does jelly come from?

Inherited from Middle English gele. Doublet of gelee.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after jelly