sockeye salmon

noun

sock·​eye salmon ˈsäk-ˌī- How to pronounce sockeye salmon (audio)
: a commercially important Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) that is greenish blue above and silvery below when sexually immature and turns red with a greenish head when ascending rivers to spawn which it does chiefly from the Columbia northward

called also red salmon, sockeye

compare kokanee

Examples of sockeye salmon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Rainbow trout and sockeye salmon aren’t the only things attracting home buyers to the shores of Lake Washington, with nearby cities like Seattle and Bellevue. Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 25 July 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. Ashley Stimpson, science.org, 7 May 2024 While chinook and chum salmon are restricted, sockeye salmon, a less traditionally popular and available fish, has become an increasingly viable alternative. Paige Vega, Vox, 3 July 2024 From the visitor center’s outdoor platform, visitors can watch the spectacle of salmon and other fish swimming up a fish ladder — steelhead and sockeye salmon in early summer and chinook and coho salmon in September. Ben Davidson, The Mercury News, 17 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for sockeye salmon 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sockeye salmon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

by folk etymology from Northern Straits (Salishan language of southern Vancouver Island and nearby islands) sə́qəy̓

First Known Use

1869, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sockeye salmon was in 1869

Dictionary Entries Near sockeye salmon

Cite this Entry

“Sockeye salmon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sockeye%20salmon. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.

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