Dictionary.com

salmon

[ sam-uhn ]
/ ˈsém ən /
Save This Word!

noun, plural salm·ons, (especially collectively) salm·on for 1-3.
a marine and freshwater food fish, Salmo salar, of the family Salmonidae, having pink flesh, inhabiting waters off the North Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America near the mouths of large rivers, which it enters to spawn.
any of several salmonoid food fishes of the genus Oncorhynchus, inhabiting the North Pacific Ocean.
a light yellowish-pink.
adjective
of the color salmon.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as


Origin of salmon

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English salmoun, samoun, from Anglo-French from Old French saumon, or directly fromLatin salmƍn-, stem of salmƍ

OTHER WORDS FROM salmon

salm·on·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use salmon in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for salmon

salmon
/ (ˈsémən) /

noun plural -ons or -on
any soft-finned fish of the family Salmonidae, esp Salmo salar of the Atlantic and Oncorhynchus species (sockeye, Chinook, etc) of the Pacific, which are important food fishes. They occur in cold and temperate waters and many species migrate to fresh water to spawn
Australian any of several unrelated fish, esp the Australian salmon
short for salmon pink

Word Origin for salmon

C13: from Old French saumon, from Latin salmƍ; related to Late Latin salar trout
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
FEEDBACK