Dolly Varden
noun
Dol·ly Var·den
ˌdä-lē-ˈvär-dᵊn- 
variants
or Dolly Varden trout
: a large freshwater or anadromous char (Salvelinus malma) that is widespread in streams of northwestern North America and eastern Asia, may attain a weight of 20 pounds (9.1 kilograms) but is usually much smaller, and is typically olive green to greenish-brown with yellow to red spots when found in fresh water and silvery with orange spots in salt water
Examples of Dolly Varden in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Norton put the Dolly Varden in a metal bucket to take home to his mother.
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Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 19 Dec. 2023
These frigid Arctic waters aren’t particularly productive, biologically speaking, meaning there isn’t normally a tremendous amount for native species like Dolly Varden and Arctic char to eat.
—WIRED, 18 Oct. 2023
The year of 1987 brought a critical event, the first appearance of fish — insect larva-loving Dolly Varden char.
—Lesley Evans Ogden, Discover Magazine, 7 Apr. 2023
The year of 1987 brought a critical event, the first appearance of fish—insect larva-loving Dolly Varden char.
—Lesley Evans Ogden, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2023
Pilot Morin guessed the fish was about 12-18 inches long and may have been a Dolly Varden, appropriate given the season.
—David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Aug. 2022
Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 19 Dec. 2023
These frigid Arctic waters aren’t particularly productive, biologically speaking, meaning there isn’t normally a tremendous amount for native species like Dolly Varden and Arctic char to eat.
—WIRED, 18 Oct. 2023
The year of 1987 brought a critical event, the first appearance of fish — insect larva-loving Dolly Varden char.
—Lesley Evans Ogden, Discover Magazine, 7 Apr. 2023
The year of 1987 brought a critical event, the first appearance of fish—insect larva-loving Dolly Varden char.
—Lesley Evans Ogden, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2023
Pilot Morin guessed the fish was about 12-18 inches long and may have been a Dolly Varden, appropriate given the season.
—David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Aug. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Dolly Varden.' 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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“Dolly Varden.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Dolly%20Varden. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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