Chinook

noun

Chi·​nook shə-ˈnu̇k  -ˈnük 

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

But environmental regulations require pumping to be reduced in the spring months of March, April and May to protect fish, including spring-run Chinook salmon, Delta smelt and longfin smelt, DWR officials said in a news release. —Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 11 Apr. 2025

But even fall-run Chinook are struggling right now. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025

At least six aircraft will be deployed for water-dropping missions, the commission said, including one Chinook and two Black Hawks of the state’s National Guard, one helicopter from the Law Enforcement Division and two single-engine air tanker Fire Bosses from the Forestry Commission. —Karina Tsui, CNN, 24 Mar. 2025

Spring-run Chinook were listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1999. —Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2025

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

Phrases Containing Chinook

• Chinook jargon
• Chinook salmon

Rhymes for Chinook

• betook
• casebook
• chapbook
• checkbook
• codebook
• cookbook
• fishhook
• forsook
• guidebook
• handbook
• hornbook
• logbook

Kids Definition

Chinook

noun

Chi·​nook shə-ˈnu̇k  chə- 

plural Chinook or Chinooks

: a member of an Indigenous people of Oregon

also : their language