salmon

American  

[sam-uhn] / ˈsæm ən /

noun

• salmons,
  plural
• salmon
  plural

1. 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.

2. landlocked salmon.

3. any of several salmonoid food fishes of the genus Oncorhynchus, inhabiting the North Pacific Ocean.

4. a light yellowish-pink.

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adjective

1. of the color salmon.

salmon British  

/ ˈsæmən /

noun

1. 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

2. any of several unrelated fish, esp the Australian salmon

3. short for salmon pink

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• salmonlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• salmon
  plural
• salmons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of salmon

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English salmoun, samoun, from Anglo-French from Old French saumon, or directly from Latin salmōn-, stem of salmō

Explanation

A salmon is a big, silver-skinned fish that lives in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Many commercial fishermen catch salmon. Salmon are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, and then return to the place they were born to spawn, or reproduce. Because they move from one place to another, salmon are famous for leaping over dams and against river tides — in fact, one theory about the word salmon says its Latin root is salire, or "to leap." There is also a color known as salmon, the pink-orange hue of a salmon's flesh.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

salmon salmons

One popular order is the Diaspora Delight with blackened salmon and jollof rice.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

It processes other proteins as well such as lamb and salmon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Those still open tend to have generators, menus priced in dollars and a clientele of well-connected Cubans, decked in salmon shirts and tassel loafers.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

"The incident could have serious consequences for the river's salmon and sea trout populations for many years to come," added the club.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Dad and Aunt Melissa launch into a lively discussion about salmon spawning, and then they’re recounting some story about a lake they visited when they were kids.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Shotter said that salmon sperm “is harvested from salmons without harming them.”

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2024

As a result, the state has been trucking millions of salmons raised at hatcheries to the ocean each year, bypassing the perilous downstream journey.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 26, 2021

Though I am but small and slender on the beach of the foaming main, I shall do thee more good in the day of distress than three hundred salmons.

From Some Specimens of the Poetry of the Ancient Welsh Bards by Evan Evans

How many rabbits and salmons had he laid low that week?

From A Bayard From Bengal Being some account of the Magnificent and Spanking Career of Chunder Bindabun Bhosh,... by Hurry Bungsho Jabberjee

"There is a river in Macedon: and there is also moreover a river at Monmouth, and there is salmons in both."

From Beowulf An Introduction to the Study of the Poem with a Discussion of the Stories of Offa and Finn by R. W. Chambers

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