tuna

¹ American  

[too-nuh, tyoo-] / ˈtu nə, ˈtju- /

noun

• tuna,
  plural
• tunas
  plural

1. any of several large food and game fishes of the family Scombridae, inhabiting temperate and tropical seas.

2. any of various related fishes.

3. Also called tuna fish.  the flesh of the tuna, used as food.

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tuna ² American  

[too-nuh, tyoo-] / ˈtu nə, ˈtju- /

noun

1. any of various prickly pears, prickly pears, especially either of two erect, treelike species, Opuntia tuna or O. ficus-indica, of Mexico, bearing a sweet, edible fruit.

2. the fruit of these plants.

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tuna ¹ British  

/ ˈtjuːnə /

noun

1. Also called: tunny.  any of various large marine spiny-finned fishes of the genus Thunnus , esp T. thynnus , chiefly of warm waters: family Scombridae . They have a spindle-shaped body and widely forked tail, and are important food fishes

2. any of various similar and related fishes

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tuna ² British  

/ ˈtjuːnə /

noun

1. any of various tropical American prickly pear cacti, esp Opuntia tuna , that are cultivated for their sweet edible fruits

2. the fruit of any of these cacti

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tuna
  plural
• tunas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tuna¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1880–85; from Spanish (California), variant of Spanish atún, from Arabic al “the” + tūn, from Greek thýnnos tunny

Origin of tuna²

First recorded in 1545–55; from Spanish, from Taíno

Explanation

A tuna is a large saltwater fish. The weight of a tuna varies enormously, from four pounds to more than 1,500 pounds! It's common to refer to the kind of tuna that's sold as food in cans as "tuna fish." If you're mainly familiar with the tuna on your tuna fish sandwich, you might be surprised to learn that the Atlantic bluefin tuna lives to be about 50 years old, and can measure almost seven feet long. The word tuna comes from the Arabic root tun via the Spanish atún.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tuna tunas

Since 2018, researchers from the University of Exeter have tagged 165 bluefin tuna from the Atlantic coast of England, Wales and Jersey.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Inside, tuna and onion cooked slowly until savory hits sweet, almost caramelized.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

Customers receive a tin of Fishwife tuna to add to the salad themselves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

After that semester, Min opted to pack turkey or tuna salad sandwiches for school, using bulk ingredients that his family buys from Costco.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

The response was obviously satisfactory, for Emily took a bite out of her tuna fish sandwich.

From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord

During the Covid-19 pandemic the new year tunas commanded only a fraction of their usual top prices as restaurants scaled back operations.

From Barron's ● Jan. 5, 2026

"Bigscale pomfret are so different from the tunas and swordfish we usually catch that we are fascinated by them whenever they show up in our gear," Mears said.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 28, 2025

One entry, from people who said they drove for three hours, says "I like the tunas" - in a nod to Doris.

From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2024

There will be bills within bills within bills in the final product; tunas within tunas within tunas.

From Slate ● Aug. 9, 2021

“Starkist don’t want tunas with good taste, Charlie. They want tunas that taste good.”

From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor