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
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From June through October, the bears converge upon the Brooks River to take advantage of the annual sockeye salmon run. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Oct. 2024 The park's bears have been gorging on Brooks River sockeye salmon throughout the summer in preparation for hibernation. Avery Lotz, Axios, 2 Oct. 2024 In July, Alaska wildlife officials shut down sockeye salmon fishing on the Chilkoot River because the numbers of returning fish were worryingly low. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 21 Sep. 2024 Washington is seeing a record-breaking sockeye salmon run this year despite a July heatwave that threatened a kill-off in the Okanogan River. Christine Clarridge, Axios, 17 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for sockeye salmon 

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 3 Dec. 2024.

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