sardine
1 Americannoun
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sardine,
plural
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sardines
plural
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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
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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.
See Examples For:
Heat also fuels toxic algae blooms containing domoic acid, which contaminate the anchovy and sardine populations.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
If you want to wear rainbow chard, a sardine tin, or a TV dinner in your hair, Lennick has a clip for that, though the company's bestseller is a strawberry.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
“Better than being an old sardine tin with a few fins left in it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
Jackie Smook stands with a sardine puppet that she made in a day at her home workshop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2025
The tiny road makes us feel like we are the only people on the entire planet in this lime-green sardine can in the middle of a misty green forest.
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
Trying to open a can of sardines could’ve gravely injured them had the twins not gotten into a screaming match in the process.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
On today’s bait menu: a tin of Wild Planet sardines, a bag of tuna flakes and a clamshell container of roasted chicken wings Navratil picked up from 7-Eleven on the way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
She recently marked her birthday with a meal of her favourite food of Cornish sardines.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
To the Chumash, “a school of sardines would have looked like an enormous, dark shadow passing beneath the water.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Indeed, if you could can sardines with ledgers, the owners would have been very happy.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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