What does "salmon" mean?
One of several species of fish, typically of the Salmoninae subfamily, brownish above with silvery sides and delicate pinkish-orange flesh; they ascend rivers to spawn.
Salmon
/ˈsæmən/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One of several species of fish, typically of the Salmoninae subfamily, brownish above with silvery sides and delicate pinkish-orange flesh; they ascend rivers to spawn.
- Grammar: salmon is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: alevin, benthon, benthos, broad jumper.
- Useful contrasts: bluish, greenish.
- Usage evidence: The rest of us all had the smoked salmon.
How to use "salmon"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "salmon" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "salmon" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "salmon" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "salmon" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "salmon" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "alevin" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "salmon", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One of several species of fish, typically of the Salmoninae subfamily, brownish above with silvery sides and delicate pinkish-orange flesh; they ascend rivers to spawn. countable, uncountable
"grilled salmon"
- 2 any of various large food and game fishes of northern waters; usually migrate from salt to fresh water to spawn wordnet
- 3 A meal or dish made from this fish. countable, uncountable
- 4 a pale pinkish orange color wordnet
- 5 A pale pinkish-orange colour, the colour of cooked salmon. countable, uncountable
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 flesh of any of various marine or freshwater fish of the family Salmonidae wordnet
- 7 The upper bricks in a kiln which receive the least heat. countable, uncountable
- 8 snout (tobacco; from salmon and trout) Cockney, countable, slang, uncountable
"Got any salmon?"
- 9 canned fish, usually mackerel. Sri-Lanka, countable, uncountable
"Tinned mackerel is confusingly called ‘salmon’ in Sri Lanka. So this dish, in Sinhalese, is salmon hodi, or salmon in gravy. Now that I think on it, all tinned fish in Sri Lanka is called salmon."
Verb
- 1 To ride a bicycle the wrong way down a one-way street. intransitive, slang
"2014: "Salmon, Don't Shoal: Learning The Lingo Of Safe Cycling" by Marc Silver, NPR Some cities discourage salmoning with clever signage, like this in London: "If you can read this you are biking the wrong way.""
Adjective
- 1 Having a pale pinkish-orange colour. not-comparable
"Smiley and Guillam perched disconsolately beneath it, on a bench of salmon velvet."
Adjective
- 1 of orange tinged with pink wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 The father of Boaz by Rahab; the son of Nahshon (biblical figure).
- 3 A placename; A city, the county seat of Lemhi County, Idaho, United States, situated on the Salmon River, after which it was probably named. countable, uncountable
- 4 A placename; Ellipsis of Salmon River. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The rest of us all had the smoked salmon."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "salmon"?
Common synonyms include: alevin, benthon, benthos, broad jumper, bucking bronco, buckjumper.
How do you use "salmon" in a sentence?
The rest of us all had the smoked salmon.
How do you pronounce "salmon"?
Pronounced /ˈsæmən/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English samoun, samon, saumon, from Anglo-Norman saumon, from Old French saumon, from Latin salmō, salmōn-. Widely displaced native Middle English lax, from Old English leax (whence modern dialectal lax). The unpronounced l was later inserted to make the word appear closer to its Latin root (compare words like debt, indict, receipt for the same spelling Latinizations). The verb sense “ride a bicycle the wrong way down a one-way street” alludes to salmon swimming upstream against the flow of a river to spawn.
Etymology 2
* (Idaho, river): named after the fish, salmon
Etymology 3
From Hebrew שַׂלְמוֹן (salmown).