Chinook
Americannoun
plural
Chinooks,plural
Chinook-
a member of a formerly numerous North American Indian people originally inhabiting the northern shore of the mouth of the Columbia River and the adjacent territory.
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either of the two languages of the Chinook Indians.
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(lowercase) a warm, dry wind that blows at intervals down the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
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(lowercase) chinook salmon.
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a U.S. Army cargo helicopter in service since 1962 and capable of ferrying 12 tons of supplies and troops.
noun
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a Native American people of the Pacific coast near the Columbia River
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the language of this people, probably forming a separate branch of the Penutian phylum
noun
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Also called: snow eater. a warm dry southwesterly wind blowing down the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
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Also called: wet chinook. a warm moist wind blowing onto the Washington and Oregon coasts from the sea
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A moist, warm wind blowing from the sea in coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest.
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A warm, dry wind descending from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, causing a rapid rise in temperature. These winds often melt snow quite rapidly, at times at a rate of up to a foot per hour.
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See also foehn
Etymology
Origin of chinook
C19: from Salish c`inuk
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The hearings are being held after a three-year shutdown of commercial salmon fishing because of a decline in the Chinook salmon population.
From Los Angeles Times
We’re not like the Chinook salmon that seek out upriver spawning zones or feline species that go into heat each spring and summer.
From Salon
Populations of Chinook salmon, steelhead trout, Delta smelt and other species have been declining.
From Los Angeles Times
Populations of Chinook salmon, steelhead trout, Delta smelt and other species have been declining in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times
His yard sign sports the outline of a Chinook helicopter, the kind he flew on special operations missions.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
