1. small silvery fish found along the Pacific coast of North America that come ashore to spawn on sandy beaches

Examples

• Grunions spawn on the beaches during high tide on warm summer nights.
• We watched the grunions come ashore to lay their eggs in the sand.
• The grunions’ spawning runs occur only during certain moon phases.
• Beachgoers gathered to observe the grunions during their mating season.
• California grunions are protected during their spawning periods.
• The silvery grunions glittered in the moonlight as they washed onto shore.