Etymology Genericized trademark of the brand name Jell-O.
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Canada, US, Usually A dessert made by boiling gelatine, sugar and some flavoring (often derived from fruit) and allowing it to set.
The jello was gone in five minutes and the cigarette smoked.1940, Carson McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Houghton Mifflin, published 2004, →ISBN, page 306:
Distribution of cherry jello was stepped up to college campus towns across America.2002, Rich Zubaty, Your Brain Is Not Your Own, →ISBN, page 159:
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She didn't want to eat anything heavy and decided that jello had zero fat content.2006, Xana, Harvest Moon, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 178:
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. […] The tough, bendable fabric combines hydrogels — such as those found in contact lenses or jello – with glass fibers.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:
And the food! I mean, I'm not fussy, but couldn't they think of anything better than this toothpaste? A little Jello or something, a nice can of soup.1968, Ronald Sukenick, Up, published 1998, →ISBN, page 26:
1977, Florence King, WASP, Where is Thy Sting?, excerpt, in The Florence King Reader, 1996 St. Martin's Press ed., →ISBN, page 25, Alex Portnoy thought his mother had magical powers because she could suspend fruit in mid-Jello.
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"I never eat Jello. I never eat anything that moves on the spoon."1984, William Martin, Nerve Endings, Crown, →ISBN, page 28: