plural Chinook or Chinooks
1
: a member of an Indigenous 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
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
But environmental regulations require pumping to be reduced in the spring months of March, April and May to protect fish, including spring-run Chinook salmon, Delta smelt and longfin smelt, DWR officials said in a news release.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 11 Apr. 2025
But even fall-run Chinook are struggling right now.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
At least six aircraft will be deployed for water-dropping missions, the commission said, including one Chinook and two Black Hawks of the state’s National Guard, one helicopter from the Law Enforcement Division and two single-engine air tanker Fire Bosses from the Forestry Commission.
—Karina Tsui, CNN, 24 Mar. 2025
Spring-run Chinook were listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1999.
—Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2025
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Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 11 Apr. 2025
But even fall-run Chinook are struggling right now.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
At least six aircraft will be deployed for water-dropping missions, the commission said, including one Chinook and two Black Hawks of the state’s National Guard, one helicopter from the Law Enforcement Division and two single-engine air tanker Fire Bosses from the Forestry Commission.
—Karina Tsui, CNN, 24 Mar. 2025
Spring-run Chinook were listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1999.
—Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for Chinook
Cite this Entry
“Chinook.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Chinook. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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