pickle

/ˈpɪkl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈpɪkl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈpi-kəl/ (ame, mw) · /ˈpɪk.əl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈpɪk.əl/ (ame, ipa)

pickle — noun

  • picklesingular
  • picklesplural

1. A fruit or vegetable prepared for eating later by soaking it in a salty or sour

1.名詞B1
釋義

A fruit or vegetable prepared for eating later by soaking it in a salty or sour liquid.

例句

Zola packed cheese, bread, and pickles for the train ride north.

pickles served with simple food

The burger came with two crunchy pickles and a pile of fries.

同義詞
  • gherkin

    a small pickled cucumber, so it is narrower than pickle

  • pickled vegetable

    more descriptive and broader; it names the category rather than the everyday food word

  • preserve

    much broader; often used for sweet fruit products rather than sour vegetables

反義詞

文法句型

a pickle

pickles with + meal

jar of pickles

用法筆記

Often used in the plural for preserved pieces of food served with a meal. In everyday use, it frequently refers to cucumbers unless another fruit or vegetable is named.

常見錯誤

❌These fresh cucumbers are nice pickles.
✅These fresh cucumbers will make nice pickles.
💡A food is only a pickle after it has been preserved in a salty or sour liquid.

2. A thick, strongly flavored condiment made by cooking or mixing preserved fruit o

2.名詞B2
釋義

A thick, strongly flavored condiment made by cooking or mixing preserved fruit or vegetables with spices.

例句

Roya spooned a little lime pickle onto her rice before dinner.

food name: lime pickle

The cheese board tasted better with a sharp pickle on the side.

同義詞
  • relish

    usually chopped more finely and often milder than pickle

  • chutney

    often sweeter and fruitier, while pickle is usually sharper or saltier

  • condiment

    a much broader category word for sauces and seasonings

文法句型

lime pickle

tomato pickle

pickle with + dish

用法筆記

This sense refers to a sauce or relish, often in names such as lime pickle or tomato pickle. It does not mean whole preserved pieces of food like sense 1.

常見錯誤

❌The sandwich came with a pickle sauce called pickle.
✅The sandwich came with tomato pickle.
💡In this sense, pickle is the name of a specific condiment, not a general word for any sauce.

3. An awkward problem or troublesome position that is hard to escape from.

3.名詞B2
釋義

An awkward problem or troublesome position that is hard to escape from.

例句

We were in a pickle after the last bus left before midnight.

phrase: be in a pickle

Shanti got into a pickle when she emailed the wrong file.

phrase: get into a pickle

同義詞
  • jam

    equally informal, often for a sudden problem

  • bind

    more formal and often suggests limited choices

  • mess

    broader; can also describe disorder rather than a difficult situation

反義詞

文法句型

be in a pickle

get into a pickle

put someone in a pickle

用法筆記

Almost always used after 'in' or 'into' in informal speech. For a more formal tone, speakers often choose words like predicament or difficulty instead.

常見錯誤

❌I had a pickle with the homework.
✅I was in a pickle with the homework.
💡This sense is normally used in the fixed phrase 'in a pickle', not as a standalone countable problem noun.

4. A baseball play in which a runner is trapped between bases while fielders try to

4.名詞C2
釋義

A baseball play in which a runner is trapped between bases while fielders try to tag them out.

例句

The shortstop caught the runner in a pickle between third and home.

runner caught between bases

Fans cheered as the defence turned a messy pickle into an out.

同義詞
  • rundown

    the standard baseball term for the same play

文法句型

in a pickle between bases

start a pickle

catch a runner in a pickle

用法筆記

Used in baseball for the play itself or for the runner's position during it. Outside baseball, this sense is much less common than the figurative sense in sense 3.

pickle — verb