sockeye

British

/ ˈsɒkˌaɪ /

noun

Also called: red salmon. a Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka, having red flesh and valued as a food fish

"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

Etymology

Origin of sockeye

by folk etymology from Salishan sukkegh

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.

Whilst bears are generally solitary, this one was heading to feast with others on the glut of sockeye salmon migrating upriver from the Pacific to their origin lake to spawn.

From BBC • Aug. 26, 2025

Meanwhile, nearly double the usual number of sockeye salmon returned to Bristol Bay in 2022.

From Science Daily • Dec. 3, 2024

If sockeye salmon was sold as salmon without any other qualifier, it was considered mislabelled.

From Salon • Oct. 29, 2024

The cans, set aside to monitor packaging integrity over time, contained chum, coho, pink, and sockeye salmon caught in the Gulf of Alaska and Bristol Bay from 1979 to 2021.

From Science Magazine • May 7, 2024

Every fourth year is a big run of sockeye, and when there is a small run of these fish there may be a big run of humpbacks or dog salmon.

From Fishing in British Columbia With a Chapter on Tuna Fishing at Santa Catalina by Lambert, Thomas Wilson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023