sardine
1 Americannoun
plural
sardine,plural
sardines-
the pilchard, Sardina pilchardus, often preserved in oil and used for food.
-
any of various similar, closely related fishes of the herring family Clupeidae.
noun
noun
-
any of various small marine food fishes of the herring family, esp a young pilchard See also sild
-
very closely crowded together
noun
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.
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 team attributed the 1980s weight decline to an increase in Japanese sardine, which likely led to greater competition for food within and between fish species.
From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2024
The worst was what they called kapenta, a kind of tiny sardine.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
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.
