gherkin
noun
the small, immature fruit of a variety of cucumber, used in pickling.
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gherkin
American
[gur-kin]
/ ˈgɜr kɪn /
noun
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the small, immature fruit of a variety of cucumber, used in pickling.
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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.
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the plant yielding this fruit.
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a small pickle, especially one made from this fruit.
gherkin
1
British
/ ˈɡɜːkɪn /
noun
-
the immature fruit of any of various cucumbers, used for pickling
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a tropical American cucurbitaceous climbing plant, Cucumis anguria
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the small edible fruit of this plant
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Gherkin
2
British
/ ˈɡɜːkɪn /
noun
Etymology
Origin of gherkin
1655–65; < Dutch gurken, plural of gurk ( German Gurke ) < Slavic; compare Polish ogórek, Czech okurka ≪ Persian
Example Sentences
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
On the box, the burgers - made from fava bean and pea protein - are described as "succulent and tangy" and "with an American style mustard and gherkin melt".
From BBC • Aug. 16, 2024
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
In one of the barns, an assistant is working on a sculpture made of sausagelike elements, while just outside stands one of Wurm’s large gherkin sculptures.
From New York Times • Mar. 6, 2014
Ingredients: Tomatoes, mayonnaise, shallot, horseradish, gherkin, anchovies, fish, cucumber, lettuce, chervil, tarragon, eggs.
From The Cook's Decameron: a study in taste, containing over two hundred recipes for Italian dishes by Waters, W. G., Mrs.
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.
