tarpon

American  

[tahr-puhn] / ˈtɑr pən /

noun

plural

tarpons,

plural

tarpon

1. a large, powerful game fish, Megalops atlantica, inhabiting the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean, having a compressed body and large, silvery scales.

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tarpon British  

/ ˈtɑːpən /

noun

1. a large silvery clupeoid game fish, Tarpon atlanticus, of warm Atlantic waters, having a compressed body covered with large scales: family Elopidae

2. another name for ox-eye herring

3. any similar related fish

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Etymology

Origin of tarpon

1675–85; earlier tarpum, trapham, terbum, of uncertain origin; compare Dutch tarpoen; words in various Indian languages of Central America ( Miskito tapam, Sumo tahpam, Rama tā́pum, Paya ta’pam ) probably ultimately < English

Example Sentences

Casselberry and her colleagues suggest that anglers use fishing gear that will allow them to land tarpon faster, thus reducing fight times and the opportunity for depredation.

From Science Daily • Jan. 22, 2024

To help manage the health of both the tarpon fishery and the hammerhead population, the researchers urge solutions that don't impact either species.

From Science Daily • Jan. 22, 2024

The team also found that tarpon tend to congregate in Bahia Honda during the spring, pre-spawning seasons -- and the hammerheads know it.

From Science Daily • Jan. 22, 2024

Setting out into the Gulf of Mexico in threes and fours, fishermen returned with buckets of tarpon and long, streaked snook.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 13, 2023

Baby tarpon are abundant in all that labyrinth of mangrove-lined streams and canals bordering the lower third of the western coast of Florida.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson