plural Chinook or Chinooks
1
: a member of an American Indian 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
: 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
John NolanExamples of Chinook in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The schedule for removing the three dams calls for finishing in August or September, which will allow for Chinook salmon to migrate upstream past the sites.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024
The final dam, JC Boyle, is expected to come down this fall, just in time for Chinook salmon season.
—Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 2 May 2024
Advertisement Salmon populations have suffered declines in recent years, and fishing for Chinook salmon was banned along the California coast this year for a second year in a row.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024
The Golden State Salmon Association said fishery managers, during a presentation given to the salmon industry in February, predicted low ocean abundance of fall-run Chinook salmon in the ocean along the West Coast.
—USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
Of the approximately 102,000 spring Chinook smolts that spilled out of the 53-foot truck last week, more than 25,000 fish didn’t survive.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 5 Apr. 2024
And fall-run Chinook, which drive California’s commercial salmon fishing industry, are no different.
—Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, 8 Apr. 2024
The Oregon incident comes on the heels of a mass Chinook salmon smolt die-off in Northern California.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
As Field & Stream reported in early March, 830,000 young fall Chinook died during release out of another facility, Fall Creek Fish Hatchery in northern California.
—Kris Millgate, Field & Stream, 5 Apr. 2024
Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024
The final dam, JC Boyle, is expected to come down this fall, just in time for Chinook salmon season.
—Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 2 May 2024
Advertisement Salmon populations have suffered declines in recent years, and fishing for Chinook salmon was banned along the California coast this year for a second year in a row.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024
The Golden State Salmon Association said fishery managers, during a presentation given to the salmon industry in February, predicted low ocean abundance of fall-run Chinook salmon in the ocean along the West Coast.
—USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
Of the approximately 102,000 spring Chinook smolts that spilled out of the 53-foot truck last week, more than 25,000 fish didn’t survive.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 5 Apr. 2024
And fall-run Chinook, which drive California’s commercial salmon fishing industry, are no different.
—Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, 8 Apr. 2024
The Oregon incident comes on the heels of a mass Chinook salmon smolt die-off in Northern California.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
As Field & Stream reported in early March, 830,000 young fall Chinook died during release out of another facility, Fall Creek Fish Hatchery in northern California.
—Kris Millgate, Field & Stream, 5 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Chinook.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Chinook.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Chinook. Accessed 9 May. 2024.
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