the small, immature fruit of a variety of cucumber, used in pickling.
Also called bur gherkin,. Also called gooseberry gourd,. Also called West Indian gherkin. the small, spiny fruit of a tropical vine, Cucumis anguria, of the gourd family, used in pickling.
the plant yielding this fruit.
a small pickle, especially one made from this fruit.
the immature fruit of any of various cucumbers, used for pickling
a tropical American cucurbitaceous climbing plant, Cucumis anguria
the small edible fruit of this plant
1655–65; < Dutch gurken, plural of gurk ( German Gurke ) < Slavic; compare Polish ogórek, Czech okurka ≪ Persian
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The gherkins “symbolized for me the last thing you have in your cupboards when you run out of everything. It starts from the last gherkin jar, and from there it all goes south.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2025
As I bit into the taut casing of the sausage, chunks of onion and gherkin fell here and there.
From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2022
"We already have a giant gherkin in the City, now it looks as if we are going to have an enormous salt cellar as well," the Prince of Wales said in 2003.
From BBC • Dec. 19, 2015
One of the gherkins seems to be bending over to inspect one particular slice of processed meat while a smaller gherkin, presumably a child, stands by, apparenly bored.
From The Guardian • Jun. 5, 2012
King of the Ridge has smooth fruits a foot or more long; gherkin, a short, prickly form, is much used for pickling.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
