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sardine

UK/sɑːˈdiːn/US/sɑɹˈdin/
nounB1+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #8,686 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: sardines

A sardine is a small oily fish packed tightly in tins. A tin of sardines, sardines on toast, packed like sardines.

It is among the most sustainable fish there is, being small, quick to breed and low in the food chain — and among the highest in the fats people take supplements for. Packed like sardines is the standard image for a crowd. The name may come from Sardinia.

TANAKA Juuyoh (田中十洋) · CC BY 2.0

Definitions of sardine

  1. 1nounsardineA small oily fish, usually tinned.B1+

    “We had grilled sardines with lemon at a café by the harbour.”

sardine is a fish.

Where it comes from

Latin sardina comes from Greek sardine, possibly named after Sardinia, where the fish was caught.

  1. Ancient Greek

    σαρδίνη

  2. Latin

    sardīna

  3. French

    sardine

  4. English, today

    sardine

French sardine (cognate with Spanish sardina, Italian sardina), Latin sardīna; from Ancient Greek σαρδίνη.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Food & Drink

Practise this word

sardine in the wild

  • Cannery Row is a historic waterfront street in Monterey, California, once home to a thriving sardine canning industry.

    Cannery Row

  • After the sardine population collapsed in the postwar years, the canneries closed one by one, with the last shutting down in 1973.

    Cannery Row

  • The terms "sardine" and "pilchard" are not precise, and what is meant depends on the region.

    Sardine

  • The United Kingdom's Sea Fish Industry Authority, for example, classifies sardines as young pilchards.

    Sardine

  • In Laredo (and many other cities in Spain) it is tradition for a group of men to parade a giant sardine through town at the end of carnival.

    Laredo, Spain

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.