salmon

American  

[sam-uhn] / ˈsæm ən /

noun

• salmons,
  plural
• salmon
  plural

1. a marine and freshwater food fish, Salmo salar, of the family Salmonidae, having pink flesh, inhabiting waters off the North Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America near the mouths of large rivers, which it enters to spawn.

2. landlocked salmon.

3. any of several salmonoid food fishes of the genus Oncorhynchus, inhabiting the North Pacific Ocean.

4. a light yellowish-pink.

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adjective

1. of the color salmon.

salmon British  

/ ˈsæmən /

noun

1. any soft-finned fish of the family Salmonidae, esp Salmo salar of the Atlantic and Oncorhynchus species (sockeye, Chinook, etc) of the Pacific, which are important food fishes. They occur in cold and temperate waters and many species migrate to fresh water to spawn

2. any of several unrelated fish, esp the Australian salmon

3. short for salmon pink

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• salmonlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• salmon
  plural
• salmons
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of salmon

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English salmoun, samoun, from Anglo-French from Old French saumon, or directly from Latin salmōn-, stem of salmō

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Explanation

A salmon is a big, silver-skinned fish that lives in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Many commercial fishermen catch salmon. Salmon are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, and then return to the place they were born to spawn, or reproduce. Because they move from one place to another, salmon are famous for leaping over dams and against river tides — in fact, one theory about the word salmon says its Latin root is salire, or "to leap." There is also a color known as salmon, the pink-orange hue of a salmon's flesh.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

salmon salmons

In addition to a revamped French dip, Nguyen plans to serve fresh ravioli, prime rib frites and salmon with trout roe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

The first minister welcomed Burnham's recent announcement that he wanted to secure better trade terms with the EU for producers of salmon, shellfish, and seed potatoes.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Food sources such as chicken, beef, salmon and tofu contain all the essential amino acids.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

Even accounting for fishmeal and transportation to the U.S., the production of certain farmed fish, including tilapia and Atlantic salmon, emits less greenhouse gas per pound than beef or pork.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Mom took a bite of salmon and chewed it about a bazillion times.

From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy

Shotter said that salmon sperm “is harvested from salmons without harming them.”

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2024

As a result, the state has been trucking millions of salmons raised at hatcheries to the ocean each year, bypassing the perilous downstream journey.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 26, 2021

In his doorway, protruding on James' sensitive vision, was a pyramid of sixpence-halfpenny tins of salmon, red, shiny tins with pink halved salmons depicted, and another yellow pyramid of four-pence-halfpenny tins of pineapple.

From The Lost Girl by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence

The minute he heard of the chest in the sea, he thought of the salmons.

From Myths and Folk Tales of Ireland by Jeremiah Curtin

"There is a river in Macedon: and there is also moreover a river at Monmouth, and there is salmons in both."

From Beowulf An Introduction to the Study of the Poem with a Discussion of the Stories of Offa and Finn by R. W. Chambers

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