pilchard

noun

pil·chard | \ ˈpil-chərd

How to pronounce pilchard (audio)

\

Definition of pilchard

1 : a fish (Sardina pilchardus) of the herring family that occurs in great schools along the coasts of Europe — compare sardine sense 1

2 : any of several sardines related to the European pilchard

Examples of pilchard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One of the keys to the success of the trip was having plenty of live pilchards to use as bait. — Steve Waters, miamiherald, "“Mahi Madness:” Some tips on taking advantage of Dolphin fishing in the Florida Keys | Miami Herald," 18 May 2018 Live baits such as pilchards usually catch the bigger tunas, which can range from 15 to 30 or more pounds. — Steve Waters, miamiherald, "Fishing for blackfin tunas? Here is a great and fun place in the Florida Keys to do that," 14 June 2018 Meanwhile, Vic Gaspeny was busy fighting a dolphin on his 10-weight fly rod and Barron was casting a live pilchard on another spinning rod. — Steve Waters, miamiherald, "“Mahi Madness:” Some tips on taking advantage of Dolphin fishing in the Florida Keys | Miami Herald," 18 May 2018 Drifting live pilchards and goggle-eyes behind the boat in the chum slick has been a great way to catch the kings. — Steve Waters, Sun-Sentinel.com, "South Florida fishing report: big kingfish biting live bait," 1 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pilchard.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about pilchard

Dictionary Entries near pilchard

Statistics for pilchard

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for pilchard

The first known use of pilchard was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century

WORD OF THE DAY

intoxicate

to affect and impair by alcohol or a drug

Test Your Vocabulary

Words from Greek and Latin Quiz

Which of the following months comes from a Latin word for “ten”?

Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ