Chinook

noun

Chi·​nook shə-ˈnu̇k How to pronounce Chinook (audio) -ˈnük How to pronounce Chinook (audio)
chə-
plural Chinook or Chinooks
1
: a member of an Indigenous people of the north shore of the Columbia River at its mouth
2
: a Chinookan language of the Chinook and other nearby peoples
3
or less commonly chinook
a
: a warm moist southwest wind of the coast from Oregon northward
b
: a warm dry wind that descends the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
4
or less commonly chinook plural chinook also chinooks : chinook salmon
5
: any of a rare breed of large, muscular dogs that were developed in New Hampshire in the early 1900s as sled and working dogs and have a yellow, reddish-yellow, or yellowish-brown coat and calm temperament
Among the dogs he [Arthur Treadwell Walden] used for breeding the Chinook were descendants of Admiral Peary's Greenland expedition huskies, along with mastiff-types.John Nolan

Examples of Chinook in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Recent deals have included Patriot missiles and Chinook heavy lift helicopters for Germany, F-35s for Greece, Romania and the Czech Republic, and tactical missiles and missile defense systems for the Netherlands. William Hartung, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025 California officials are debating whether to cancel the salmon fishing season for the third year in a row amid a concerningly low Chinook salmon population in the Sacramento Valley. William Lambers, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025 This year, state estimates show the number of Chinook salmon is still so low that fishing could again be prohibited — or if not, sharply limited — to help fish stocks recover. Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2025 State and local firefighters were aided by two Black Hawk helicopters and a Chinook from the South Carolina National Guard, the guard said. Dennis Romero, NBC News, 4 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for Chinook

Word History

Etymology

Lower Chehalis (Salishan language of western Washington) c̓inúk, name of a Chinook village

First Known Use

1795, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Chinook was in 1795

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Cite this Entry

“Chinook.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Chinook. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

Chinook

noun
Chi·​nook shə-ˈnu̇k How to pronounce Chinook (audio) chə- How to pronounce Chinook (audio)
plural Chinook or Chinooks
: a member of an Indigenous people of Oregon
also : their language

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