steelhead
Americannoun
noun
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Origin of steelhead
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In an accompanying statement, the groups argued the rule changes could immediately harm wildlife including Florida manatees, grizzly bears, salmon and steelhead fish, bird species like rufa red knots and golden-cheeked warblers, and insect pollinators.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
However, they can migrate to the ocean and become steelhead, where they typically grow larger before returning to their natal waters to spawn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species, but with different lifestyles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Fish and Wildlife Service’s military conservation partner of the year for its efforts to support the recovery of several species, including the tidewater goby, coastal California gnatcatcher, the arroyo toad and southern California steelhead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2025
Soon salmon and steelhead and trout from the Dungeness made their way up the irrigation ditch and gathered in schools in the pond.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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Steelhead trout are the same species as rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, but unlike their freshwater-dwelling relatives, steelheads spend much of their lives feeding in the ocean and return to their natal streams to spawn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
Unlike salmon, which are part of the same family, steelheads often spawn multiple times before they die.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
While tribal members can sell kings for $8 per pound, they do not sell steelheads, mainly just using them for food.
From New York Times ● Jun. 11, 2018
Living in his car and on boats, his entire existence hanging on the whim of silvery steelheads and the hatching pattern of mayflies.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 1, 2018
The clear tree-fringed lakes and rivers are filled with speckled trout and steelheads, pike and pickerel and whitefish.
From "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.