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sockeye salmon

American  
[sok-ahy] / ˈsɒkˌaɪ /

noun

  1. an important food fish, Oncorhynchus nerka, inhabiting the North Pacific.


Etymology

Origin of sockeye salmon

1865–70; sockeye, alteration (by folk etymology) of Halkomelem (Mainland dial.) sθə́qəỷ

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.

See Examples For:

In the summer, the area is thronged by fishermen drawn to Bristol Bay for the world’s largest sockeye salmon run.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 7, 2026

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

There is an especially large run of sockeye salmon in the Fraser river every fourth year, while in the year immediately following there is a poor run.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" by Various

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