gel

Noun (1)

gel (countable and uncountable, plural gels)

1. A semi-solid to almost solid colloid of a solid and a liquid, such as jelly, cheese or opal.
   • Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200
   • Researchers have developed a new gel they say is as durable as metal, has the flexibility of jello, and could revolutionize how our bodies heal and age.2017 July 16, Jenny Marc, Katy Scott, “Revolutionary gel is five times stronger than steel”, in CNN, archived from the original on 02 Jul 2025
   1. A food preparation or dish in the form of a flavored gel.
      • apple gel
2. Any gel intended for a particular cosmetic use, such as for styling the hair.
3. A film of flexible transparent plastic (such as acetate, celluloid, or cellophane) suitable for making superimpositions or diapositives (image to overlay on other images, especially for overhead projectors); a digital virtual equivalent of this.

Verb

gel (third-person singular simple present gels, present participle gelling, simple past and past participle gelled)

1. (transitive) To apply (cosmetic) gel to (the hair, etc).
   • It ended, as it so often does, with that familiar smile. Cristiano Ronaldo – gelled hair, dazzling teeth, magic in his boots – will never forget the night he scored the 600th goal of an almost implausible career.2017 June 3, Daniel Taylor, “Real Madrid win Champions League as Cristiano Ronaldo double defeats Juve”, in The Guardian (London), archived from the original on 28 Mar 2019
2. (intransitive) To become a gel: to set up.

   Synonyms:

   set, jell out

3. (intransitive) To develop a rapport.
   • He was a nice guy, and I got on OK with his friends, but the two of us never really gelled.
4. (figuratively, intransitive) To come together to form something; to cohere.
   • We put our ideas together and they eventually gelled into a saleable product.

Noun (2)

IPA/ɡɛl/

gel (plural gels)

1. (UK, slang) A girl.
   • "Now pray don't be troublesome, my dear gel," said Uncle Andrew.1955, C[live] S[taples] Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew, London: The Bodley Head, →OCLC