salmon

American  

[sam-uhn] / ˈsæm ən /

noun

plural

salmons,

plural

salmon

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

• 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.

Example Sentences

He said salmon numbers have been declining "rapidly" in the past two decades and pollution like this has "the potential to wipe out" salmon stocks on the River Mourne.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

Stir it with spices— paprika, cumin, garlic, whatever you have — coat chicken or salmon, and let it sit for as long as you remember to.

From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026

And yet a systematic review showed there was almost no evidence that they benefit salmon and trout populations.

From Slate • Apr. 28, 2026

Thornton made salmon and fried okra with spicy hummus with Hunter Fieri.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2026

"South was bad hunting last year," she said, handing Bartok some smoked salmon strips to eat while he was out on the ice.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

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