: a young salmon or sea trout about two years old that is at the stage of development when it assumes the silvery color of the adult and is ready to migrate to the sea

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web No one, especially biologists, want salmon smolts to end up in dipnets. Bill Monroe, oregonlive, 31 Mar. 2023 HiddenFjord is now incorporating Power Hub into a new warehouse at its smolt site. Sarah Kollmorgen, Discover Magazine, 28 May 2015 Burbot may also be lurking in the shallows chasing sockeye smolt. John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Oct. 2022 The smolt will spend a year feeding and growing in the Pacific Ocean before returning. Bill Roth, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Oct. 2022 Decades later, ocean warming from climate change appears to be recreating those same conditions that limit food supply in the sea, just as billions more smolt are poured into it annually. Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Sep. 2021 Federal scientists are monitoring this year’s cohort to see how well the smolt survive the 352-mile journey from the base of Shasta Dam to the Golden Gate by attaching acoustic tags to hundreds of hatchery fish. Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Mar. 2022 Each spring, the sockeye smolt swam unimpeded to the sea for the cycle to begin anew. Author: Richard Read, Anchorage Daily News, 26 July 2021 Becky Johnson, production division director for the tribe’s Fishery Resource Management, was there when nearly 500,000 smolt were released into the Lostine River in 2017. oregonlive, 7 Dec. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'smolt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English (Scots)

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of smolt was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near smolt

Cite this Entry

“Smolt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smolt. Accessed 5 Jun. 2023.

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