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pickle Definition

pickle (pikəl)

noun

  1. any brine, vinegar, or spicy solution used to preserve or marinate food
  2. a vegetable, specif. a cucumber, preserved in such a solution
  3. a chemical bath used to clear metal of scale, preserve wood, etc.
  4. Informal an awkward or difficult situation; plight

Etymology: ME pikil < MDu pekel < ? picken, to prick, in sense “that which pricks, or is piquant”

transitive verb -·led, -·ling

to treat with or preserve in a pickle solution

pickle Synonyms

pickle

n.

  1. A preservative solution

    solution, alcohol, formaldehyde solution; see brine, vinegar.

  2. A relish] Varieties of pickles include: cucumber, gherkin, cornichon, beet, green tomato, dill, bread-and-butter, sweet, sweet-sour, mustard, garlic, half-sour, kosher, pickled peppers, pickled beans, pickled apricots, pickled cherries, pickled peaches, pickled pears, pickled quince, pickled pineapple, pickled watermelon rind, ginger tomatoes, piccalilli, chowchow, chutney, corn relish, cranberry-orange relish, spiced currants, spiced gooseberries, beet relish, mango relish, chili sauce;

  3. *A troublesome situation

    plight, impasse, dilemma, bind*; see difficulty 1, 2, predicament. See syn. study at predicament.

pickle Synonyms

pickle

v.

keep, cure, can; see preserve 3.

pickle Usage Examples

Object

  • onion: Basically, pickled onions are just small onions pickled in vinegar.
  • spice: To produce spiced vinegar, heat the cider vinegar with a bag of pickling spice.
  • object: Warning: this is intended for pickling multiple objects without intervening modifications to the objects or their parts.
  • shark: Nobody is sure if Hirst, who made his reputation slicing cows and pickling sharks, can draw at all.

Converse of object

  • preserve: Typical products include wine, frozen vegetables, fruit juice, fruit preserves, pickles, frozen shellfish.
  • make: I think I enjoyed the Sunday's Bubble and Squeak better than the main roast itself, especially with home made pickle.

Adjective modifier

  • lime: Put stem ginger, ginger syrup, olive oil, lime juice and lime pickle in a blender and whizz until smooth.
  • sweet: I aim to do the same next year, but I wish I had his recipe for sweet pickle.
  • real: The European Central Bank is in a real pickle.
  • right: A source told The People: " Chris has got himself into a right old pickle about the shelter.

Modifies a noun

  • jar: The second useful tool to remind you how to prioritize is the ' pickle jar ' .
  • sandwich: A friend arrived via the motorway and left his plastic cheese n ' pickle sandwich in the fridge.
  • factory: BSG Review: How could anybody find a pickle factory funny?
  • module: The pickle module doesn't handle code objects, which the marshal module does.
  • format: By default, the pickle data format uses a printable ASCII representation.
  • data: By default, the pickle data format uses a printable ASCII representation.

Modifying Another Word

  • then: Soak the chillies in brine first then pickle in vinegar.

Noun used with modifier

  • dill: Best picked at 1.5 inches in length or at 4 to 6 inches in length for dill pickles.

Preposition: in

  • vinegar: Soak the chillies in brine first then pickle in vinegar.
  • jar: It was the sort I really like, things pickled in jars, they had a lamb with 2 heads in a jar!
pickle Quotes

The outstanding event was the doing which I am still at. Don't pickle me awayas done.

—Carr, Emily

Browse dictionary entries near pickle

  1. pickings
  2. picking
  3. Pickett
  4. picketing
  5. picket line
  6. picket fence
  7. picket
  8. Pickering
  9. pickerelweed
  10. pickerel
  1. pickled
  2. picklock
  3. pickoff
  4. pickpocket
  5. pickup
  6. pickup truck
  7. Pickwick
  8. pickwickian
  9. picky
  10. picloram