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

Then I would do either the salmon with spinach or if it was a super cheat day, I’d have a cheeseburger.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

Other variations he has made, including riffs on a California roll and a smoked salmon bagel, have also gone viral.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

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

It also works across the board: flaked salmon with lemon and herbs, crab with celery and a lot of black pepper.

From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026

One of the kids got loose and asked someone walking by for a piece of salmon.

From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya

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