Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Pickle

//ˈpɪkəl// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.
Noun
  1. 1
    A cucumber preserved in a solution, usually a brine or a vinegar syrup. Australia, Canada, US, countable, uncountable

    "A pickle goes well with a hamburger."

  2. 2
    A kernel; a grain (of salt, sugar, etc.) Northern-England, Scotland
  3. 3
    vegetables (especially cucumbers) preserved in brine or vinegar wordnet
  4. 4
    Any vegetable preserved in vinegar and consumed as relish. countable, in-plural, often, uncountable
  5. 5
    A small or indefinite quantity or amount (of something); a little, a bit, a few. Usually in partitive construction, frequently without "of"; a single grain or kernel of wheat, barley, oats, sand or dust. Northern-England, Scotland

    "[…] ill things are like guid—they baith come bit by bit, a pickle at a time […]"

Show 11 more definitions
  1. 6
    informal terms for a difficult situation wordnet
  2. 7
    A sweet, vinegary pickled chutney popular in Britain. UK, countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    The brine used for preserving food. countable, uncountable

    "This tub is filled with the pickle that we will put the small cucumbers into."

  4. 9
    A difficult situation; peril. countable, informal, uncountable

    "The climber found himself in a pickle when one of the rocks broke off."

  5. 10
    A mildly mischievous loved one. countable, endearing, uncountable

    "by degrees my little pickle (who, as I told you at the beginning of the story, was the most troublesome child I ever came across) turned into a very well-behaved young gentleman."

  6. 11
    A rundown. countable, uncountable

    "Jones was caught in a pickle between second and third."

  7. 12
    A children’s game with three participants that emulates a baseball rundown uncountable

    "The boys played pickle in the front yard for an hour."

  8. 13
    A penis. countable, slang, uncountable
  9. 14
    A pipe for smoking methamphetamine. countable, slang, uncountable

    "Load some shards in that pickle."

  10. 15
    A bath of dilute sulphuric or nitric acid, etc., to remove burnt sand, scale, rust, etc., from the surface of castings, or other articles of metal, or to brighten them or improve their colour. countable, uncountable
  11. 16
    In an optical landing system, the hand-held controller connected to the lens, or apparatus on which the lights are mounted. countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To preserve food (or sometimes other things) in a salt, sugar or vinegar solution. ergative, transitive

    "We pickled the remainder of the crop."

  2. 2
    To eat sparingly. Northern-England, Scotland, ambitransitive
  3. 3
    preserve in a pickling liquid wordnet
  4. 4
    To remove high-temperature scale and oxidation from metal with heated (often sulphuric) industrial acid. transitive

    "The crew will pickle the fittings in the morning."

  5. 5
    To pilfer. Northern-England, Scotland, ambitransitive
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    To serialize.

    "You can now restore the pickled data. If you like, close your Python interpreter and open a new instance, to convince yourself […]"

  2. 7
    To pour brine over a person after flogging them, as a method of punishment. historical

    "On Wednesday 26 May, […] I had [an enslaved man] flogged and pickled and then made Hector shit in his mouth. […] In July, […] Gave [another enslaved man] a moderate whipping, pickled him well, made Hector shit in his mouth, […]"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English pikel (“spicy sauce served with meat or fish”), borrowed from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German pekel (“brine”). Cognate with Scots pikkill (“salt liquor, brine”), Saterland Frisian Piekele (“pickle, brine”), Dutch pekel (“pickle, brine”), Low German pekel, peckel, pickel, bickel (“pickle, brine”), German Pökel (“pickle, brine”), Icelandic pækill (“brine”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English pikel (“spicy sauce served with meat or fish”), borrowed from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German pekel (“brine”). Cognate with Scots pikkill (“salt liquor, brine”), Saterland Frisian Piekele (“pickle, brine”), Dutch pekel (“pickle, brine”), Low German pekel, peckel, pickel, bickel (“pickle, brine”), German Pökel (“pickle, brine”), Icelandic pækill (“brine”).

Etymology 3

Perhaps from Scottish pickle, apparently from pick + -le (diminutive suffix). Compare Scots pickil.

Etymology 4

Perhaps from Scottish pickle, apparently from pick + -le (diminutive suffix). Compare Scots pickil.

See also for "pickle"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: pickle