sardine
1 Americannoun
-
the pilchard, Sardina pilchardus, often preserved in oil and used for food.
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any of various similar, closely related fishes of the herring family Clupeidae.
noun
noun
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any of various small marine food fishes of the herring family, esp a young pilchard See also sild
-
very closely crowded together
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sardine1
1400–50; late Middle English sardeine < Middle French sardine < Latin sardīna, derivative of sarda sardine, noun use of feminine of Sardus Sardinian
Origin of sardine2
1300–50; Middle English (< Late Latin sardīnus ) < Greek sárdinos sardius
Explanation
A sardine is a very small, oily fish. You might like to eat sardines on toast for lunch. If you do, we suggest an after-lunch mint may be in order. Sardines are most often bought canned, lined up in rows in little tins. The word sardine is actually a general term — it refers to a type of fish, most often a small herring, while a slightly larger one is sometimes called a pilchard. The phrase "packed like sardines," describing people crowded together in a tight spot like an elevator or a subway car, comes from the way sardines look in cans. The word itself comes from the Mediterranean island Sardinia.
Vocabulary lists containing sardine
Inside Out & Back Again
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Amazing Animals, List 2
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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.
Entrepreneur Max Daily, semi-famous in San Diego for running the pop-up Oslo Sardine Bar, has announced plans to open an eatery on Old Highway 80 with a stage for live music.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2024
On opening night, the United Sardine Factory, a repurposed cannery, hosted short commissions by composers across the festival’s history to honor its anniversary.
From New York Times • Mar. 22, 2023
“At Sardine, we’re talking about doing no menus and getting more chalkboards,” Gadau said.
From Washington Times • Jun. 29, 2020
If you ask around for the best brunch in Madison, you’ll get a lot of hemming and hawing, and out of that hemming and hawing, at least one answer will probably be Sardine.
From Washington Post • Jan. 22, 2020
There was a storm coming, set to lay three feet of snow over Sardine Canyon, which guarded the entrance to our valley.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
