pickle

noun

• 1 [mass noun] a relish consisting of vegetables or fruit preserved in vinegar or brine: cheese and pickle [count noun]:assorted pickles
• [count noun] North American a pickled cucumber.
• liquid used to preserve food or other perishable items.

• 2 [in singular] informal a difficult situation:I am in a pickle

• 3 [in singular] British informal, dated used as an affectionate form of address to a mischievous child: ‘All right, me pickle’, said Dad

• 4an acid solution for cleaning metal objects.

verb

• 1preserve (food or other perishable items) in vinegar or brine:fish pickled in brine

• 2immerse (a metal object) in an acid or other chemical solution for cleaning: the steel sheet is first pickled in acid to remove all oxides