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steelhead

[steel-hed]
noun, plural steel·heads, (especially collectively) steel·head.
  1. a silvery rainbow trout that migrates to the sea before returning to fresh water to spawn.
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Origin of steelhead

First recorded in 1580–90; steel + head
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for steelhead

Historical Examples

  • Steelhead and German brown trout will also be found in the river.

    Guide to Yosemite

    Ansel Hall

  • The flies named for the red-throat trout are just as killing for the steelhead.

    Favorite Fish and Fishing

    James Alexander Henshall

  • Then there came a day when Dan caught his first steelhead in the North Fork.

    The Voice of the Pack

    Edison Marshall

  • The other claim that the larger scales of the rainbow is a distinguishing feature from the steelhead is not founded on facts.

  • So Steelhead came out of the water presently, and clad himself, while Osberne yet played a while.

    The Sundering Flood

    William Morris

British Dictionary definitions for steelhead

steelhead

noun plural -heads or -head
  1. a silvery North Pacific variety of the rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)
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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