Standard Lemma guide

tuna

name · noun · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australian, UK: tyo͞o'nə
  • Australian, UK: /ˈtjuː.nə/
  • New-Zealand: /ˈtjuːnə/
  • New-Zealand: /ˈtuːnə/
  • New-Zealand: /ˈtʉ.nɐ/
  • US: to͞o'nə
  • US: /ˈtu.nə/
  • US: /ˈtju.nə/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -uːnə
  • tyo͞o'nə
  • /ˈtjuː.nə/
  • cho͞o'nə yod-coalescence
  • /ˈtʃuː.nə/ yod-coalescence
  • to͞o'nə yod-dropping
  • /ˈtu.nə/ yod-dropping
  • CMU ARPABET: T UW1 N AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: T Y UW1 N AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

Various towns and (historical) former settlements in Sweden.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A god, considered the son of Manga-wai-roa and source of eels.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: Maori mythology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Any of several species of fish of the genus Thunnus in the family Scombridae.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The edible flesh of the tuna.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The prickly pear, a type of cactus native to Mexico in the genus Opuntia.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

The fruit of the cactus.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

Someone who is seen as socially successful despite not being a gang member.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

New Zealand eel

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Anguilla sucklandii

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: eel

9

noun

Meaning 9

any very large marine food and game fish of the genus Thunnus; related to mackerel; chiefly of warm waters

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tunny

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: food fish, scombroid, scombroid fish

Narrower terms: albacore, long-fin tunny, Thunnus alalunga, bluefin, bluefin tuna, horse mackerel, Thunnus thynnus, yellowfin, yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares

10

noun

Meaning 10

important warm-water fatty fish of the genus Thunnus of the family Scombridae; usually served as steaks

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tuna fish, tunny

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: saltwater fish

Narrower terms: albacore, bonito, bluefin, bluefin tuna

11

noun

Meaning 11

tropical American prickly pear of Jamaica

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Opuntia tuna

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: prickly pear, prickly pear cactus

History

Etymology

From Swedish Tuna, from Old Norse Tuna, from tún (“enclosure, enclosed area, settlement”).

Borrowed from Māori Tuna.

Etymology tree Taínobor. United States Spanish tunabor. English tuna Borrowed from United States Spanish tuna, alteration of Spanish atún, from Arabic اَلتُّنّ (at-tunn, “tuna”), from Latin thunnus, itself from Ancient Greek θύννος (thúnnos). Possibly in the sense of "darter" from thynein "to dart along". Doublet of tonno.

From Taíno.

Acronym of turnt up nonaffiliate.

Across languages

Translations

86 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: تُونَة (tūna) — fish
  • Arabic: تُنّ (tunn) — fish
  • Arabic: تونة (tūna) — fish
  • Arabic: طون (ṭūn) — fish
  • Armenian: թյունոս (tʻyunos) — fish
  • Azerbaijani: tunes — fish
  • Basque: atun — fish
  • Bulgarian: риба тон (riba ton) — fish
  • Catalan: tonyina — fish
  • Chinese Cantonese: 吞拿魚 /吞拿鱼 (tan1 naa4 jyu2) — fish
  • Chinese Mandarin: 金槍魚 /金枪鱼 (jīnqiāngyú) — fish
  • Czech: tuňák — fish
  • Danish: tun — fish
  • Dutch: tonijn — fish
  • Esperanto: tinuso — fish
  • Faroese: tunfiskur — fish
  • Finnish: tonnikala — fish
  • French: thon — fish
  • Friulian: ton — fish
  • Galician: atún — fish
  • Galician: túnido — fish
  • Georgian: თინუსი (tinusi) — fish
  • German: Thunfisch — fish
  • German: Thun — fish
  • Greek: τόνος (tónos) — fish
  • Ancient Greek: θύννος (thúnnos) — fish
  • Hebrew: טונה — fish
  • Hungarian: tonhal — fish
  • Icelandic: túnfiskur — fish
  • Ido: atuno — fish
  • Irish: tuinnín — fish
  • Italian: tonno — fish
  • Japanese: 鮪 — fish
  • Japanese: ツナ (tsuna) — fish
  • Khmer: ធូណា (thuunaa) — fish
  • Korean: 다랑어 (darang'eo) — fish
  • Korean: 참다랑어 (chamdarang'eo) — fish
  • Korean: 참치 (chamchi) — fish
  • Latin: thunnus — fish
  • Latvian: tuncis — fish
  • Ligurian: tónno — fish
  • Lithuanian: tunas — fish
  • Macedonian: туна (tuna) — fish
  • Malay: tuna — fish
  • Malay: aya — fish
  • Maltese: tonn — fish
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tunfisk — fish
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: tunfisk — fish
  • Pannonian Rusyn: тунь (tunʹ) — fish
  • Pannonian Rusyn: туна (tuna) — fish
  • Pannonian Rusyn: тунєц (tunjec) — fish
  • Persian: ماهی تن (mâhi-ye ton) — fish
  • Polish: tuńczyk — fish
  • Portuguese: atum — fish
  • Romanian: ton — fish
  • Russian: туне́ц (tunéc) — fish
  • Slovak: tuniak — fish
  • Slovene: túna — fish
  • Slovene: tȗn — fish
  • Lower Sorbian: tunowa ryba — fish
  • Spanish: atún — fish
  • Swedish: tonfisk — fish
  • Tagalog: tulingan — fish
  • Tagalog: atun — fish
  • Thai: ทูน่า (tuu-nâa) — fish
  • Thai: โอ (oo) — fish
  • Turkish: ton balığı — fish
  • Turkish: orkinos — fish
  • Turkish: ton — fish
  • Ukrainian: туне́ць (tunécʹ) — fish
  • Vietnamese: cá ngừ đại dương — fish
  • Volapük: tonen — fish
  • Welsh: tiwna — fish
  • Yiddish: טונפֿיש (tunfish) — fish
  • Finnish: tonnikala — flesh
  • German: Thunfisch — flesh
  • German: Thun — flesh
  • Hungarian: tonhal — flesh
  • Lao: ທູນາ (thū nā) — flesh
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tunfisk — flesh
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: tunfisk — flesh
  • Okinawan: トゥナ (tuna) — flesh
  • Polish: tuńczyk — flesh
  • Spanish: nopal — type of cactus
  • Catalan: figa de moro — fruit of the cactus
  • Spanish: tuna — fruit of the cactus