Definition of "sardine" [sar•dine]

• Any of various small or half-grown edible herrings or related fishes of the family Clupeidae, frequently canned in oil or water, especially the pilchard of European waters. (noun)
• Any of numerous small, silvery, edible freshwater or marine fishes unrelated to the sardine. (noun)
• Slang To pack tightly; cram: "The bars are sardined with hungry hopefuls” ( Gael Greene). (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "That which we call a sardine by any other name would smell as sweet."
• "All ammunition manufacturers are running at full capacity trying to fulfill damand but there are enough people with enough money to buy everthing they see and pack it in sardine cans in the basement."
• "Sardina: sardine, of which the Pacific sardine is abundant in Mexican waters and is raised in industrial hatcheries as bait for the bluefin tuna (atún aleta azul) that is exported to Japan."