1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

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

Relevance

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 Dill pickle juice adds tang, just like the pickle slices served alongside the original dish. — Torie Cox, Southern Living, 12 Sep. 2026 This is maybe one that a true pickle lover looking to experiment would really enjoy. — Bianca Harris, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026 Bad pickle chips have so little dill pickle flavor that they could be mistaken for plain potato chips. — Jolene Thym, Mercury News, 7 Sep. 2026 Without natto, miso soup, and pickles, my breakfast does not feel complete. — Michiko Tomioka, CNBC, 5 Sep. 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
  • On the other end, Heckman wrestled with the moral predicament of giving airtime to a potential murderer while hoping to keep Hall alive.
    — Dave Itzkoff, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Her mother hustled her to hospital, only for the doctors to realize Accurso’s active imagination had left her in the same predicament as Madeline’s friends.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of predicament
Noun
  • Part of what our soul requires is a person who has an authentic interior struggle — a debate, a dilemma.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Past attempts to fix this flaw created a frustrating dilemma.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of dilemma
Noun
  • However, going down to 0-2 puts a team at a really big hole to start the year and make the playoffs.
    — David Troy OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Martin Schwarzschild is the son of Karl Schwarzschild, the person who discovered the black-hole solution.
    — David Brooks, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of hole
Noun
  • Feasting on neutrality Few illustrate the current bind better than Caitlin Clark.
    — Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of bind
Noun
  • Wildlife watching is a year-round event, and one of the best vantage points is the Owl’s Roost Tower above the swamp.
    — Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Staying safe from alligators in Florida Alligators have inhabited Florida's marshes, swamps, rivers and lakes for centuries and are found in all of Florida's 67 counties.
    — Steven Yablonski, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of swamp
Noun
  • Wednesday evening’s Office Hours, a weekly jazz jam hosted at Vine Street Brewing, has turned a typically slow night in the service industry into one of their busiest nights of the week.
    — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Order one with jam and butter, or go savory and get a biscuit topped with vegetarian gravy or stuffed with bacon, lettuce and tomato.
    — Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 21 Sep. 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 27 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on pickle

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pickle

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All