bonito
Americannoun
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bonito,
plural
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bonitos
plural
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any mackerel-like fish of the genus Sarda, as S. sarda, of the Atlantic Ocean.
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any of several related species, as the skipjack, Euthynnus pelamis.
noun
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any of various small tunny-like marine food fishes of the genus Sarda , of warm Atlantic and Pacific waters: family Scombridae (tunnies and mackerels)
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any of various similar or related fishes, such as Katsuwonus pelamis ( oceanic bonito ), the flesh of which is dried and flaked and used in Japanese cookery
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bonito
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Spanish: literally, “pretty,” equivalent to bueno “good” + -ito diminutive suffix, or from Arabic bainīth
Compare meaning
How does bonito compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A bonito is a medium-sized fish that's a close relation of the tuna. When smoked and fermented, bonito is used to flavor many Japanese soups. Bonitos are in the same family as tuna and mackerel, and they're sometimes used as a less expensive substitute for skipjack tuna. In Japanese cuisine, the fish is commonly used in the form of "bonito flakes," or katsuobushi. These intensely flavorful dried flakes are added to dashi broth, which is the base of most miso soup. Bonito is a Spanish word that means "the good one."
Vocabulary lists containing bonito
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Against the country that had innovated the jogo bonito, Haaland’s performance was a masterpiece of straightforward brutality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
The "Manana sera bonito" singer is the first Latina artist to headline the festival, which draws massive crowds over two consecutive weekends in Indio, California.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
Bonito flakes, which are made from dried bonito fish that is grated into flakes.
From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2024
Unlike pasta or curry, ramen is difficult to replicate at home, he said, Making it from scratch involves hours of cooking stock, with pork, beef or chicken, various fish or bonito flakes, and “kombu” kelp.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 24, 2024
He would slowly walk sideways, tilting his head from side to side, repeating “periquito bonito, periquito bonito” as he grabbed on to my finger.
From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez
Here the larger pelagic fish, the barracuda, bonitos and sharks, patrol.
From New York Times ● Sep. 7, 2012
Fisherman's contention: though Truman was photographed, while President, in various Izaak Walton poses with grouper, bonitos, barracuda and king salmon, "there is no concrete evidence that he actually caught any of them."
From Time Magazine Archive
With such a weapon it was probable that he might have succeeded in striking down one of the winged swimmers that, pursued by the bonitos and albacores, were still leaping over the raft.
From The Ocean Waifs A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea by Mayne Reid
The creatures which are oftenest used as vehicles by the spirits of the dead are sharks, alligators, snakes, bonitos, and frigate-birds.
From The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead, Volume I (of 3) The Belief Among the Aborigines of Australia, the Torres Straits Islands, New Guinea and Melanesia by Sir James George Frazer
About twelve o'clock the wind fell light and we tried fishing, but without success, though several bonitos or flying-fish were seen.
From A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam' Our Home on the Ocean for Eleven Months by Annie Brassey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
