sturgeon

¹ American  

[stur-juhn] / ˈstɜr dʒən /

noun

plural

sturgeon,

plural

sturgeons

1. any of various large fishes of the family Acipenseridae, inhabiting fresh and salt waters in the North Temperate Zone, valued for their flesh and as a source of caviar and isinglass: Acipenser brevirostrum shortnose sturgeon, of the Atlantic coast, is a vulnerable species.

---

Sturgeon ² American  

[stur-juhn] / ˈstɜr dʒən /

noun

1. Theodore (Hamilton), 1918–85, U.S. science-fiction writer.

---

sturgeon British  

/ ˈstɜːdʒən /

noun

1. any primitive bony fish of the family Acipenseridae, of temperate waters of the N hemisphere, having an elongated snout and rows of spines along the body: valued as a source of caviar and isinglass

---

Etymology

Origin of sturgeon

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French esturgeon, from Germanic; compare Old English styria, Old High German sturio ( German Stör ), Old Norse styrja

Example Sentences

Thanks to a conservation program that started early in the last century, sturgeon are thriving here.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

The group spotted nearly 20 suspected sturgeon on the screen that day, but only five came close enough to take a shot.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

Native fish that are increasingly threatened include the finger-sized Delta smelt and white sturgeon, the largest freshwater fish in North America, which can reach more than 10 feet long.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2026

Island Creek Oysters offers quite the selection, including kaluga, white sturgeon, Siberian, and osetra varieties.

From Salon • Dec. 4, 2025

Out in the harbor a sturgeon makes a single leap like a silver horse and then is gone.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr