pickles

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Vegetables, especially cucumbers, that have been preserved in salty water or vinegar so they taste sour and keep for a long time.

   Grammar: Plural of pickle: we ate pickles with the sandwiches.

   Patterns

   • pickles in a jar
   • pickles on a burger

   She added sliced pickles to the burger.

   My grandmother makes pickles from the cucumbers in her garden.

   A jar of pickles sat next to the cheese on the table.

2. 2nounpluralBritish

   A thick, spicy or sweet relish of chopped vegetables, eaten cold with bread, cheese or curry.

   Grammar: Mostly British use; often uncountable as 'pickle' in the singular: cheese and pickle.

   Patterns

   • pickles with something

   We served lime pickles and mango pickles with the curry.

   He spread pickles on his cheese sandwich.

   The restaurant brings a tray of pickles to each table.

3. 3verbtransitive

   Third person singular of pickle: preserves food in vinegar or brine.

   Grammar: Takes an object: she pickles cucumbers every summer.

   Patterns

   • pickle something in something

   Dad pickles onions every autumn.

   She pickles beets in sweet vinegar.

   Our neighbor pickles whatever the garden produces.

Word forms

Common combinations

jar of pickles

She opened a jar of pickles for the picnic.

sweet pickles

Sweet pickles go well with ham.

dill pickles

Dill pickles are a classic side with sandwiches.

homemade pickles

Homemade pickles keep for months in the fridge.

pickled onions and pickles

The pub sells pickled onions and pickles with the cheese plate.

Synonyms and how they differ

gherkins

Gherkins are small pickled cucumbers, so they are one kind of pickles; the word is more common in British English.

relish

Relish is a chopped, spoonable sauce, whereas pickles are usually whole or sliced pieces in brine.

chutney

Chutney is cooked with sugar and spices into a thick jam-like sauce, whereas pickles are preserved raw in brine or vinegar.

preserves

Preserves is a broader word for any food kept for later, often sweet like jam, while pickles are sour.

Opposites

Word family

pickle noun

a single pickled cucumber or similar item

pickle verb

to preserve in brine or vinegar

pickled adjective

preserved in vinegar or brine

pickling noun

the process of preserving food in this way

Commonly confused: pickles or pickle (trouble)?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “pickles”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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