tuna

[too-nuh, tyoo-]

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noun, plural (especially collectively) tu·na, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) tu·nas.

any of several large food and game fishes of the family Scombridae, inhabiting temperate and tropical seas.Compare albacore, bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna.

any of various related fishes.

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

Origin of tuna

1880–85, Americanism; < American Spanish, variant of Spanish atún < Arabic al the + tūn < Greek thýnnos tunny

tuna

[too-nuh, tyoo-]

noun

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

the fruit of these plants.

Origin of tuna

1545–55; < Spanish < Taino

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for tuna

macho, manly, muscular, gallant, brave, bold, hardy, hunk, adult, stud, jock, male, ape, caveman, stallion, beefcake, tuna, courageous, hairy, honorable

Examples from the Web for tuna

Contemporary Examples of tuna

Champagne, which is also acidic, offers a nice complement to anything from tuna tartare to beef bourguignon.
Champagne: You’re Drinking It All Wrong
Kayleigh Kulp
December 20, 2014
While the President chomped on his tuna fish sandwich, the Blackhawk pilot explained the details of his crash.
I Shot Bin Laden
Elliot Ackerman
November 16, 2014
The next step was to steal one of the six pound tuna cans from the warehouse.
Tales of a Jailhouse Gourmet: How I learned to Cook in Prison
Daniel Genis
June 21, 2014
The birdman cooked the flesh in his ‘kitchen’, which was a tuna can on top of an ‘eye’ just like mine.
Tales of a Jailhouse Gourmet: How I learned to Cook in Prison
Daniel Genis
June 21, 2014
Who the hell would have a tuna sandwich first thing in the morning?
Welcome to Yooperland, A Little Slice of Finland in Michigan
Jane & Michael Stern
May 11, 2014

Historical Examples of tuna

When the tuna is raised so high he will refuse to come any higher, and then there is a deadlock.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey
If the angler rests the tuna will not only rest, too, but he will take more and more line.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey
When I think of Sam I think of tuna—those torpedoes of the ocean.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey
There lives no fisherman but what there lives a tuna that can take the conceit and the fight out of him.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey
These tuna may return next year and then again they may not return for ten years.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey

British Dictionary definitions for tuna

tuna

noun plural -na or -nas

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

any of various similar and related fishes

Word Origin for tuna

C20: from American Spanish, from Spanish atún, from Arabic tūn, from Latin thunnus tunny, from Greek

tuna

noun

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

the fruit of any of these cacti

Word Origin for tuna

C16: via Spanish from Taino

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tuna

1881, from American Spanish (California) tuna, from Spanish atun, from Arabic tun, from Latin thunnus "tunny" (see tunny).