sockeye salmon

American  

[sok-ahy] / ˈsɒkˌaɪ /

noun

1. an important food fish, Oncorhynchus nerka, inhabiting the North Pacific.

---

Etymology

Origin of sockeye salmon

1865–70; sockeye, alteration (by folk etymology) of Halkomelem (Mainland dial.) sθə́qəỷ

Example Sentences

The stable parasite levels observed in coho and sockeye salmon are more difficult to interpret.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

Whilst bears are generally solitary, this one was heading to feast with others on the glut of sockeye salmon migrating upriver from the Pacific to their origin lake to spawn.

From BBC • Aug. 26, 2025

All Atlantic salmon, basa, halibut, mackerel, sockeye salmon and Pacific white shrimp were as advertised.

From Salon • Oct. 29, 2024

The cans, set aside to monitor packaging integrity over time, contained chum, coho, pink, and sockeye salmon caught in the Gulf of Alaska and Bristol Bay from 1979 to 2021.

From Science Magazine • May 7, 2024

There is an especially large run of sockeye salmon in the Fraser river every fourth year, while in the year immediately following there is a poor run.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" by Various