little tunny
noun
variants
or less commonly little tuna
plural little tunnies also little tuna or little tunas
: a small active nearly scaleless tuna (Euthynnus alletteratus) of warm usually shallow marine waters that is blue above with short dark wavy stripes and silvery-white below, that typically reaches a length of 32 inches (81 centimeters), and that is valued as a sport fish : false albacore
There may be no better inshore fighting fish than the little tunny, but they're also the poorest table fare in the family …—
The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey)
The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey)A little tunny is not an acrobat but it is a powerful speedster …—Zach Zacharias
Zach ZachariasFalse albacore, or little tuna, have constantly been a challenge for me from the beach.—Eric Burnley
Eric Burnleycalled also bonito
Examples of little tunny in a Sentence
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The world-record little tunny weighed 36 pounds and was caught off the coast of Spain in 2020.
—Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 23 Aug. 2023
At the July rodeo, Kyle Davis topped the leaderboard with a 22.24-pound bonito, a species also known as little tunny.
—al, 13 Sep. 2021
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Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 23 Aug. 2023
At the July rodeo, Kyle Davis topped the leaderboard with a 22.24-pound bonito, a species also known as little tunny.
—al, 13 Sep. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Little tunny.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/little%20tunny. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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