brook trout

American  

noun

1. Also called speckled trout.  a common trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, of eastern North America.

2. brown trout.

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brook trout British  

noun

1. Also called: speckled trout.  a North American freshwater trout, Salvelinus fontinalis , introduced in Europe and valued as a food and game fish

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Etymology

Origin of brook trout

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Compare meaning

How does brook-trout compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• splake vs. brook trout

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brook trout

As we climbed the terraced pools of the West Kill, I concentrated on keeping my cast short and precise until I caught my first brook trout, or “brookie.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

Recent research has found 6PPD-quinone to be similarly lethal to other fish species, including brook trout, rainbow trout, chinook salmon, and white-spotted char.

From Slate ● Nov. 9, 2023

Nonnative brown and brook trout, stocked for sport angling, compete for food.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 25, 2022

Now fish have returned in droves: Atlantic salmon, alewives, baby eels, shad and brook trout, to name a few.

From New York Times ● Jan. 20, 2020

I had spent many hours there fishing for brook trout with David and Joseph; and although there were no fish left since the war, I remembered the course of the stream bed.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien