pickle

noun

ˈpi-kəl How to pronounce pickle (audio)
Definition of picklenext
as in predicament
a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape well, this is a bit of a pickle we've gotten ourselves into

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pickle Like fainting, craving pickles, or struggling to wiggle into skinny jeans, vomiting, in the cultural imagination, is a stand-in for imminent motherhood, as legible as any pregnancy test. — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026 While the drugs have become cheaper, soaring demand and long-term use have put employers in a financial pickle. — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026 There are pickle card games, hair clips, socks, air fresheners, and tote bags; marshmallows, sunflower seeds, cotton candy, and lollipops. — Jenna Sims, Southern Living, 5 Aug. 2026 Maybe a bread-and-butter or spicy pickle would yield different results. — Elliott Harrell, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pickle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pickle
  1. predicament
  2. dilemma
  3. hole
  4. bind
  5. swamp
  6. jam
Noun
  • Rasure also recommends being open about your financial predicament.
    — Gili Malinsky, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The dynamic of high inflation and a weak labor market is a predicament for the Federal Reserve, which can’t tackle both at the same time.
    — Laura McGann, semafor.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of predicament
Noun
  • The audacious effort was designed to address the Voyagers’ constant dilemma—how to keep the probes running on an ever shrinking trickle of power.
    — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Democrats are facing a dilemma and Michigan’s Senate primary perfectly illustrated it.
    — Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of dilemma
Noun
  • Instead of slicing and dicing the zucchini, grate it on the large holes of a box grater or the grater attachment of a food processor.
    — Kate Williams, AJC.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Naughton said as students arrived for the meetup at the school’s blacktop, the district began filling in a hole on the blacktop from a tree that had been removed earlier in the summer.
    — Molly Gibbs, Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of hole
Noun
  • The Hightower high lord and his armies have occupied Tumbleton and have Rhaenyra in something of a bind.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
  • States cannot file for bankruptcy, leaving the Prairie State in an unusually tight bind.
    — Gregory Kearney, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026
Definition of bind
Noun
  • But bad ideas are like those Hollywood horror movies in which monsters always reemerge from the swamps to terrorize us again.
    — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • This member of the Colubridae family of snakes is found in mangrove swamps and tropical lowland forests from the Malay Peninsula to the Philippines.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of swamp
Noun
  • The inside is lined with a spread like Nutella, cookie butter, strawberry jam or peanut butter, then filled with soft serve and finished with fruit, drizzles and toppings.
    — Brittany Anas, Denver Post, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The menu seems to change, but for now, there’s a Hellraiser for a person who’s a bit of a heat-seeker with bacon, blue cheese, mozzarella and jalapeno-pistachio jam.
    — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of jam

Browse Nearby Words

picking up on
pickle
pickled
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pickle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pickle. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on pickle

Nglish: Translation of pickle for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pickle

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