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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

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife wrote that it is concerned about weakened protections for winter-run and spring-run chinook salmon, steelhead trout, delta smelt and longfin smelt.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2025

This sort of estimate is already used for management decisions regarding endangered winter-run chinook salmon, Milstein said, and is “recognized as a scientifically durable approach.”

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