What does pickled mean?
Pickled describes food that has been preserved in a seasoned brine, usually containing vinegar, salt, and sometimes spices or herbs. The process gives foods such as cucumbers, onions, herring, and eggs a characteristic sharp, sour flavor and helps them keep longer. The word can also describe something drenched or strongly saturated in a pungent liquid, and it may suggest an intense sour smell. As a verb form, pickled is the past tense and past participle of pickle, meaning to preserve food in brine or vinegar. In everyday British and American English, pickled foods are a familiar category of preserved foods rather than a particularly formal term. The word is especially useful when discussing pickling as both a culinary technique and a method of food preservation.
Preserved in brine, vinegar, or another seasoned solution; also, strongly sour or pungent.
"The sandwich came with a generous serving of pickled vegetables."
The food-related meaning is standard in British and American English. The adjective can also be figurative when describing a strong smell or a person covered in brine.
Past tense and past participle of pickle: to preserve food in brine or vinegar.
"The vegetables were pickled with garlic and dill."
This is an inflected verb form rather than a separate lexical verb.
Pickling does more than preserve food: its acidic brine can give vegetables, fruit, and even eggs a bold, unmistakable tang.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pickled come from?
Pickled comes from the English noun and verb pickle, which originally referred to food preserved in brine and, in some earlier uses, to a brined or salted item. The English word has connections with Middle Dutch pikel, a word associated with brine or pickled food, and ultimately with a Germanic root connected with salt or sourness. Over time, pickle broadened from a term for preserved food or brine to the process of preserving food in a seasoned liquid.
Related word forms
How pickled is actually used
In its food-related sense, the word is normal and often neutral. When describing a person as smelling pickled or describing an object as heavily pickled, it can sound figurative, humorous, or mildly disparaging. The verb form normally appears in the past tense or past participle.
Easily confused with pickled
A pickled food has been preserved in brine or vinegar, whereas a prickly surface feels sharp and uneven.