rainbow trout

American

noun

a trout, Salmo gairdnerii, native in the coastal waters and streams from Baja California to Alaska, used as a food and game fish.

rainbow trout British

noun

a freshwater trout of North American origin, Salmo gairdneri , having a body marked with many black spots and two longitudinal red stripes

"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

Etymology

Origin of rainbow trout

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

rainbow trout

Excursions with Vail Valley Anglers, booked through the hotel, offer a chance to cast for brown and rainbow trout.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Fish species affected included largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, flathead catfish, and stocked species such as brown trout and rainbow trout.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026

But those rainbow trout — identifiable by iridescent colors running down their sides — are blocked from journeying to the ocean and back by man-made barriers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2025

In 2022, China produced 37,000 tonnes of rainbow trout.

From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2025

The first summer I went, Aunt Cecile had pointed me down a path that led to a stream chock-full of rainbow trout.

From "Miracle's Boys" by Jacqueline Woodson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023