salmon
Americannoun
plural
salmons,plural
salmon-
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
noun
-
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
-
any of several unrelated fish, esp the Australian salmon
-
short for salmon pink
Other Word Forms
- salmonlike adjective
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.
Vocabulary lists containing salmon
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Amazing Animals, List 1
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Pink
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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.
A sharp decline in the Chinook salmon population led to the ban on commercial fishing in 2023, 2024 and 2025, the longest shutdown in state history.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026
Still, she is hopeful that the limited salmon season can provide a small boost to fishing businesses.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026
Bates, for example, said she thinks California should be able to rebuild a healthy salmon population.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026
Everyone who has the salmon suffers debilitating food poisoning, including the two pilots.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
“Those cutlets and that salmon were sent in yesterday,” I said.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
