pickle Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun vegetables (especially cucumbers) preserved in brine or vinegar
  2. noun informal terms for a difficult situation
    kettle of fish; mess; fix; muddle; jam; hole.
    • he got into a terrible fix
    • he made a muddle of his marriage
  3. verb preserve in a pickling liquid

WordNet

Pic"kle noun
Definitions
Obs.
  1. See Picle.
Pic"kle noun
Etymology
Cf. D. pekel. Probably a dim. fr. Pick, v. t., alluding to the cleaning of the fish.
Definitions
  1. (a) A solution of salt and water, in which fish, meat, etc., may be preserved or corned; brine. (b) Vinegar, plain or spiced, used for preserving vegetables, fish, eggs, oysters, etc.
  2. Any article of food which has been preserved in brine or in vinegar. esp., a cucumber thus preserved
  3. (Founding) 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 color.
  4. A troublesome child; as, a little pickle. Colloq.
Pic"kle transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Pickled ; present participle & verbal noun Pickling
Definitions
  1. To preserve or season in pickle; to treat with some kind of pickle; as, to pickle herrings or cucumbers.
  2. To give an antique appearance to; -- said of copies or imitations of paintings by the old masters.

Webster 1913