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# pickle

noun (a pickle, pickles; pickle, uncountable); verb (pickle, pickles, pickled, pickling)

«pickle» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#m1)
2. (UK) Pickle is a thick, chunky, sour-sweet sauce eaten with cheese or cold meat, as in a cheese and pickle sandwich. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#m2)
3. (informal) To be «in a pickle» means to be in a difficult or awkward situation. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#m3)
4. (verb) To pickle food means to preserve it in vinegar or salt water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#m4)
5. (UK, informal) «Little pickle» is a fond name for a cheeky child. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#m5)
6. A pickle can also be a small pool of water, a puddle. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#m6)

### 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#x1)
- Can I have a cheese and pickle sandwich? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#x2)
- We pickled onions in vinegar in science club. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#x3)
- I was in a real pickle when I forgot my PE kit. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#x4)
- Grandma calls my baby sister a little pickle. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#x5)
- Pickling helped people keep food through the winter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#x6)
- The jar of pickles was too tight to open. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#x7)
- 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/#x8)

### 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.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «pickle» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pickle/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«pickle» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/pickle.html) on Mova free.