trout

noun

ˈtrau̇t 

plural trout also trouts

1

: any of various salmonid food and sport fishes that are mostly smaller than the typical salmons and are anadromous or restricted to cool clear fresh water:

a

: any of various Old or New World fishes (genera Salmo, Salvelinus, and Oncorhynchus) compare brown trout, rainbow trout

b

: char entry 1

2

: any of various fishes (such as the largemouth bass) held to resemble the true trouts

Examples of trout in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Withdrawals of water by the massive pumps that feed the systems have contributed to the ecological degradation of the Delta and San Francisco Bay, where threatened and endangered fish species include steelhead trout, two types of Chinook salmon, longfin smelt, Delta smelt and green sturgeon. —Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024

Haaland returned to Arizona in September to formally announce the Apache trout had been removed from the Endangered Species List after a 50-year-long conservation partnership among federal, state, tribal and nonprofit organizations. —Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 20 Dec. 2024

Researchers at the University of New Mexico discovered communities of bacteria thriving in salmon and trout brains. —Yasemin Saplakoglu, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Dec. 2024

Salinas and her team started by extracting DNA from the olfactory bulbs of trout and salmon, some caught in the wild and some raised in her lab. —Quanta Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English trūht, from Late Latin trocta, tructa, a fish with sharp teeth, from Greek trōktēs, literally, gnawer, from trōgein to gnaw — more at troglodyte

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing trout

• brook trout
• brown trout
• cutthroat trout
• Dolly Varden trout
• golden trout
• lake trout
• mackinaw trout
• rainbow trout
• sea trout
• speckled trout
• spotted sea trout
• trout lily
• trout-perch

Kids Definition

trout

noun

ˈtrau̇t 

plural trout also trouts

1

: any of various edible fishes that are mostly smaller than the related salmons, are restricted to cool clear fresh water or spend time at sea before returning to fresh water to breed, and are often speckled with dark colors

2

: any of various fishes that resemble the true trouts