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Inflections of 'pickle v ⇒ conjugate )pickles v 3rd person singular pickling v pres p pickled v past pickled v past p
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026 pick•le1 /ˈpɪkəl/USA pronunciation
n., v., -led, -ling. n.
Food a vegetable, esp. a cucumber, that has been preserved and flavored in brine or vinegar: [ countable ] [ uncountable ] [ uncountable ] Informal Terms a troublesome situation;[ countable ;usually singular; usually: a + ~] We're in a pickle now, surrounded by woods.v. [ ~ + object] Food to preserve or soak in brine or other liquid.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026 pick•le1
(pik′ əl),USA pronunciation n., v., -led, -ling. n.
Food a cucumber that has been preserved in brine, vinegar, or the like.Often, pickles. any other vegetable, as cauliflower, celery, etc., preserved in vinegar and eaten as a relish. something preserved in a brine or marinade. a liquid usually prepared with salt or vinegar for preserving or flavoring fish, meat, vegetables, etc.; Metallurgy an acid or other chemical solution in which metal objects are dipped to remove oxide scale or other adhering substances.Informal Terms a troublesome or awkward situation;I was in a pickle after the check bounced. Informal Terms a sour, disagreeable person.v.t.
Food to preserve or steep in brine or other liquid.to treat with a chemical solution, as for the purpose of cleaning. to give a pale, streaked finish to (wood) by applying and partly removing paint or by bleaching, as to give an appearance of age. Slang Terms to store;Let's pickle these old cars for a few years. Middle Dutch, Middle Low German pekel (Pökel ) brine, pickle late Middle English pikkyll, pekille 1400–50 6. plight, quandary; fix, bind, scrape, jam. pick•le2
(pik′ əl),USA pronunciation n. [ Scot. and North Eng.]
Scottish Terms a single grain or kernel, as of barley or corn.Scottish Terms a small amount;
1545–55; perh. noun, nominal use of pickle to take tiny bits of food in eating, frequentative of pick 1 ; see -le
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
pickle /ˈpɪkə l / n (often plural ) vegetables, such as cauliflowers, onions, etc, preserved in vinegar, brine, etc any food preserved in this way a liquid or marinade, such as spiced vinegar, for preserving vegetables, meat, fish, etc chiefly US Canadian a cucumber that has been preserved and flavoured in a pickling solution, such as brine or vinegar informal an awkward or difficult situation : to be in a pickle Brit informal a mischievous child vb (transitive ) to preserve in a pickling liquid to immerse (a metallic object) in a liquid, such as an acid, to remove surface scale Etymology: 14th Century: perhaps from Middle Dutch pekel; related to German Pökel brine ˈpickler n
'pickle ' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):