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• chinook salmon
  chinook salmon

  noun

  a large salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, found in the North Pacific Ocean.
• Chinook salmon
  Chinook salmon

  noun

  a Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus tschawytscha, valued as a food fish

chinook salmon

American  

[shi-nook sam-uhn, -nook, chi-] / ʃɪˈnʊk ˈsæm ən, -ˈnuk, tʃɪ- /

noun

1. a large salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, found in the North Pacific Ocean.

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Chinook salmon British  

noun

1. Also called: quinnat salmon.   king salmon.  a Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus tschawytscha, valued as a food fish

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Etymology

Origin of chinook salmon

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chinook salmon Chinook salmon

The fishing season for fall-run chinook salmon would normally run from about May to October.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2024

Since Dec. 1, 1,274 threatened spring-run chinook salmon and 353 endangered winter-run chinook salmon have been killed in the pumps, including wild and hatchery-raised salmon, the latest data show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2024

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

Southern resident killer whales eat chinook salmon, which are also endangered due to habitat degradation and other threats.

From National Geographic ● Oct. 30, 2023

He and Harry Secor had worked together to stalk the giant chinook salmon of the Dungeness River.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

When Chinook salmon swim upstream from the ocean to spawn in rivers and creeks, they need cold water for their eggs to survive.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026

The planned resumption of fishing this spring will enable crews to catch limited numbers of fall-run Chinook salmon on certain dates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026

Federal scientists call the Sacramento River’s winter-run Chinook salmon “one of the most at-risk endangered species.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2026

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 ● Dec. 19, 2025

"It's Royal Chinook salmon that I caught in the fish derby on the Columbia River only last—" Mrs. MacDonald colored suddenly.

From The House from Nowhere by Stangland, Arthur G.