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parr

1 American  
[pahr] / pɑr /

noun

  • parrs,
    plural
  • parr
    plural
  1. a young salmon, having dark crossbars on its sides.

  2. the young of certain other fishes, as the codfish.


Parr 2 American  
[pahr] / pɑr /

noun

  1. Catherine. Catherine Parr.


Parr 1 British  
/ pɑː /

noun

  1. Catherine. 1512–48, sixth wife of Henry VIII of England

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

parr 2 British  
/ pɑː /

noun

  1. a salmon up to two years of age, with dark spots and transverse bands

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of parr

First recorded in 1765–70; origin uncertain


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.

See Examples For:

The young fish, known as parr, have been spawned in the River Ecclesbourne, near the site of the former Postern Mill in Turnditch.

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2025

Jennifer Kril, living rivers officer at the trust, said: "It's been years in the making, but finding salmon parr here confirms we have achieved the extraordinary."

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2025

Developmental stages—the transitions between the eggs, fry, parr, smolt, and returning salmon—are governed by changes in water temperature, and warmer waters can disrupt the salmon’s life cycle by triggering stunted growth or premature hatching.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 7, 2019

Each year, Maine’s Department of Marine Resources and United States Fish and Wildlife Service stocks the rivers and streams with millions of salmon eggs and fry and thousands of parr and smolts.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 7, 2019

Heading toward the wide parr of the river where trees grouped themselves in families darkening the earth below.

From "Sula" by Toni Morrison

In a study published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience, Schultz and co-first author Lauren Parr, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Pharmacology, developed a compound that selectively inhibits TAOK-1.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

Aaron Laws, head teacher at Lacock Primary School, said Parr "obviously got that sense of community and something special" about the village.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

Asked by Parr if he has a team of people to help with his trading, he responded: “Just me.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026

Parr was found Jan. 13 inside an apartment in the 24000 block of Jackson Avenue, according to the Murrieta Police Department.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 22, 2026

I saw Wayne Parr and Hillari Kimble go past, Hillari laughing out loud.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli

At first the requests were sartorial: three tailored suits, three parrs of Nunn-Bush shoes, shirts, ties, cologne and toothbrushes.

From Time Magazine Archive

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