pickle

Everyday

1. A pickle is a vegetable, especially a small cucumber (gherkin), kept in vinegar or salty water so it lasts a long time and tastes sour. tree →
2. (UK) Pickle is a thick, chunky, sour-sweet sauce eaten with cheese or cold meat, as in a cheese and pickle sandwich. tree →
3. (informal) To be «in a pickle» means to be in a difficult or awkward situation. tree →
4. (verb) To pickle food means to preserve it in vinegar or salt water. tree →
5. (UK, informal) «Little pickle» is a fond name for a cheeky child. tree →
6. A pickle can also be a small pool of water, a puddle. tree →

In the lessons

In science and food lessons, pickling shows how vinegar and salt stop germs and keep food from going bad. In stories, characters «in a pickle» are in trouble and must find a way out. In everyday UK and Irish life, cheese and pickle sandwiches are common; in North America a pickle often comes with a burger. Phrases: «in a pickle», «cheese and pickle», «pickled onions», «little pickle».

Examples

• Dad likes a pickle on the side of his burger. tree →
• Can I have a cheese and pickle sandwich? tree →
• We pickled onions in vinegar in science club. tree →
• I was in a real pickle when I forgot my PE kit. tree →
• Grandma calls my baby sister a little pickle. tree →
• Pickling helped people keep food through the winter. tree →
• The jar of pickles was too tight to open. tree →
• So he walked on till he came to the drain near by, with just a pickle of water and a foot of mud in it. tree →

Note

Countable for single pickles (two pickles); uncountable for the sauce (some pickle). «Pickled» as an adjective can be old slang for drunk. A gherkin is a kind of pickle.