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pickle

pickle

103 1.0
A vegetable like a cucumber preserved in vinegar or salty water that you eat with food
  • noun
  • /ˈpɪkəl/
translation icon : encurtido
  • I want mayo and pickles, but sweet pickles, okay?
  • jars of pickles
  • bread and pickles
  • spices and pickles

Little squeeze of lemon, little splash of pickle juice, and then lots of Pickles.

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Examples

  • She served a plate with a burger and a crunchy pickle on the side.

  • Bologna, some turkey, some potato salad, a pickle.

  • -Can I eat the pickle?

  • Hi, can I please order a pickle sandwich?

  • I'd like to have a cheese and pickle.

  • You have the pickle relish?

  • Pickles come on a burger.

  • Oh, it's Branston pickle, one of my most favorite condiments.

  • The distribution of pickles in Texas closely matches that of brisket.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Milwaukee had far fewer varieties than items: five of its seven items were pickles; the other two were beers.

    Academic text (1992)

Synonyms

gherkin
vspickle
5 3.1

A small cucumber pickled and eaten with food

is a general preserved vegetable not limited to small condiment sizes
dill pickle
vspickle
  • US
3 1.6

A cucumber that people keep in salt water or vinegar and flavor with dill

is preserved the same way but lacks that particular herb flavor
cornichon
vspickle
2 7.8

A small sour pickled cucumber often served with cheese or meat

is less specific, applying to preserved vegetables used as condiments or snacks
sweet pickle
vspickle
2 2.7

A vegetable kept in sugar and vinegar that tastes sweet and sour

is the general preserved vegetable which may be sweet or savory in flavor
3.1

A sweet thin slice of cucumber kept in vinegar, sugar, and onion

is broader and can be savory or variously flavored rather than only sweet

Antonyms

1 1.0

Food that is recently picked or made and not kept to last long

Idioms

in a pickle
  • Informal
7 8.3

In trouble and not sure what to do

9.9

To feel very irritated or upset about something small

Make someone feel very happy and amused

Compounds

3 1.6

A cucumber that people keep in salt water or vinegar and flavor with dill

2 2.7

A vegetable kept in sugar and vinegar that tastes sweet and sour

A sweet, chopped topping of cucumbers in vinegar used on burgers and hot dogs

A sweet thin slice of cucumber kept in vinegar, sugar, and onion

A large wooden barrel that holds cucumbers or vegetables in vinegar

Surface Forms

pickle singular
pickles plural

Etymology

Pickle first named the salty liquid 'brine' (from Dutch pekel) and later came to mean the vegetables kept in that liquid. So a pickle is a vegetable preserved in 'brine' or vinegar to make it last and taste sour or sweet.