pickled

adjective

pick·​led ˈpi-kəld 

1

: preserved in or cured with pickle

pickled herring

2

informal : drunk sense 1a

… once got pickled on two glasses of punch at an office party …

—Rex Stout

Synonyms of pickled

• fried
• drunk
• drunken
• wet
• impaired
• wasted

Examples of pickled in a Sentence

He got pickled at the office party.

I must have been rather pickled when I agreed to your stupid scheme.

Recent Examples on the Web

Shredded vegetables — carrot, ginger, papaya, shallot and cucumber, some pickled and some fresh — are arranged, per the original name, over top in willowy repose. —Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026

Tips for making quick-pickled red onions All products featured on Bon Appétit are independently selected by our editors. —Oliver Strand, Bon Appetit Magazine, 3 June 2026

Qin Qin is an Asian fusion restaurant—available only to Diamond Club guests—whose menu blends Mayan ingredients with Asian staples, with dishes like Peking duck with black mole sauce, and cochinita pibil dumplings with yuzu foam and pickled red onions. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026

This springy pasta salad recipe takes pickled shrimp to main course status. —Jenna Sims, Southern Living, 2 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pickled

• prickled
• tickled
• trickled

Kids Definition

pickled

adjective

pick·​led

: preserved with pickle