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salmon

SA-muhn/ˈsæmən/

Pluralsalmon, salmons

8 meanings of salmon

Practice

  1. 1
    living fishnouncountable
    A large fish with silvery sides and pink-orange flesh that swims up rivers to lay eggs.

    Every fall, salmon swim back up the river to lay their eggs.

    We watched a salmon leap right out of the rushing river.

    UsageOne salmon, two salmon.

  2. 2
    the meatnoununcountable
    The pink-orange meat of this fish, eaten as food, cooked, smoked or raw.

    We had grilled salmon for dinner last night.

    She ordered salmon with a side of rice.

    UsageSay I ate salmon for dinner.

    Similarlox

  3. 3
    of that coloradjective
    Having a pale pink-orange color.

    She wore a salmon shirt to the picnic.

    The new curtains are salmon, bright against the gray wall.

    UsageSay pale salmon or salmon pink.

    Note
  4. 4
    the color namenouncountable or uncountable
    A pale pink-orange color, like the inside of cooked fish.

    She painted the spare room a soft salmon.

    The evening sky slowly faded to a warm salmon.

    UsageSay salmon pink to make clear you mean the color.

Practice

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Origin

It came through Middle English and Old French from the Latin word salmō. The silent 'l' was added later to make it look more like the Latin.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  • Salmon came through Middle English from a French borrowing ultimately derived from Latin salmō. en.wiktionary.org
  • The French transmission includes Old French saumon, derived from Latin salmō. en.wiktionary.org
  • The silent l was added later to make the spelling resemble Latin. en.wikipedia.org