plural tuna or tunas
1
: any of various large vigorous scombroid fishes (as of the genera Euthynnus, Katsuwonus, and especially Thunnus) that are usually dark above and silvery below and include many that are valued as food or sport fishes see albacore, bigeye tuna, bluefin tuna, dogtooth tuna, little tunny, skipjack tuna, yellowfin tuna
2
: the flesh of a tuna used for food
grilled tuna
specifically,
sometimes tuna fish
: tuna flesh that has been cooked and canned
—often used before another noun
tuna salad
a tuna fish sandwich
1
: any of various flat-jointed prickly pears (genus Opuntia)
especially
: one (O. tuna) of tropical America
2
: the edible fruit of a tuna
Examples of tuna in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
Inside many of Duchêne’s faithful, masterful re-creations of haute cuisine are hints of a nervy brilliance: in a dish of oeufs mayonnaise, the normally ghost-white emulsion was bright green with herbs and topped audaciously with a tumble of tuna tartare.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 27 July 2025
According to a Tuesday announcement from the Food and Drug Administration, all affected products contain tuna salad made with breadcrumbs potentially contaminated with listeria monocytogenes.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 25 July 2025
All recalled tuna salad items had a sell-by date between July 16, 2025 and July 19, 2025.
—Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for tuna
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Noun
Begin with bubbling escargot or a rich, creamy foie gras, but the showstopper is the seafood tower filled with tuna tartare, East Coast oysters, shrimp and lobster with mignonette sauce.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
Inside many of Duchêne’s faithful, masterful re-creations of haute cuisine are hints of a nervy brilliance: in a dish of oeufs mayonnaise, the normally ghost-white emulsion was bright green with herbs and topped audaciously with a tumble of tuna tartare.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 27 July 2025
According to a Tuesday announcement from the Food and Drug Administration, all affected products contain tuna salad made with breadcrumbs potentially contaminated with listeria monocytogenes.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 25 July 2025
All recalled tuna salad items had a sell-by date between July 16, 2025 and July 19, 2025.
—Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for tuna
Cite this Entry
“Tuna.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tuna. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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