tune

[ toon, tyoon ]
See synonyms for tune on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a succession of musical sounds forming a melody, with or without the harmony accompanying it: He hummed a little tune and tapped his foot on the pavement.

  2. a musical setting composed for a specific set of lyrics or words: She composed a new tune for the hymn in 1872, which is now the one most commonly used in church choirs.

  1. the state of being in the proper pitch: He struggled to keep his guitar in tune on stage.

  2. agreement in pitch; unison or harmony: The two voices were perfectly in tune.

  3. proper adjustment, as of radio instruments or circuits with respect to frequency.

  4. the state of being aware of and in harmony with someone or something else: The foundation works very closely with the local leadership in each community, and is in tune with what they need.

  5. Archaic. frame of mind; mood.

  6. Obsolete. a tone or sound.

verb (used with object),tuned, tun·ing.
  1. to adjust (a musical instrument) to a correct or given standard of pitch (often followed by up): All you need to tune a piano is the correct equipment—and a really good sense of pitch.

  2. to adapt (the voice, song, etc.) to a particular tone, to the expression of a particular feeling, or the like: For some, Christmas means tuning your voices to carols and hymns.

  1. to bring (someone or something) into harmony.

  2. to adjust for proper functioning or for the desired results: The car has a nitrogen sensor that makes it easy for a technician to tune the engine to meet emissions permit levels.Examples like this are valuable to us because we can use them to tune our algorithms.

  3. Radio and Television.

    • to adjust (a circuit, frequency, or the like) so as to bring it into resonance with another circuit, a given frequency, or the like.

    • to adjust (a receiving apparatus) so as to make it compatible in frequency with a transmitting apparatus whose signals are to be received.

    • to adjust (a receiving apparatus) so as to receive the signals of a particular transmitting station.

  4. to put into or cause to be in a receptive condition, mood, etc.; bring into harmony or agreement: Try to learn the lessons and tune your brain to start thinking this way, and you'll do just fine in the program.In order to further expand our business, we’ll have to tune our approach to the different conditions in different markets.

  5. Archaic.

    • to utter, sound, or express musically.

    • to play upon (a lyre).

verb (used without object),tuned, tun·ing.
  1. to put a musical instrument in tune (often followed by up): We'll be starting the jam session right at 8 p.m.—come early if you need to tune up.

  2. to give forth a musical sound.

  1. to be in harmony or accord; become responsive.

Verb Phrases
  1. tune in, to adjust a radio or television set so as to receive (signals, a particular station, etc.).

  2. tune out,

    • to adjust a radio or television set so as to stop or avoid receiving (a station or channel).

    • Slang. to stop paying attention to a person, situation, etc.

  1. tune up,

    • to cause a group of musical instruments to be brought to the same pitch.

    • to begin to sing.

    • to bring into proper operating order, as a motor: Before starting on our trip we should have the car tuned up.

Idioms about tune

  1. call the tune, to decide matters of policy; control: He was technically running the business, but his father still called the tune.

  2. change one's tune, to reverse one's views; change one's mind: She changed her tune about children when she married and had her own.

  1. sing a different tune, to be forced to change one's ways, attitude, behavior, etc.: He will sing a different tune when he has to earn his own money.

  2. stay tuned,

    • to continue watching a television channel or listening to a radio station: Stay tuned for more classic and contemporary hits.

    • to keep alert or be on the lookout: Stay tuned for our next post with a list of nearby hotels with favorable rates.You can see the early stages of the site now, and stay tuned for future developments.

  3. to the tune of, Informal. in or about the amount of: In order to expand, they will need capital to the tune of six million dollars.

Origin of tune

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (noun); unexplained variant of tone

Other words for tune

Other words from tune

  • mis·tune, verb, mis·tuned, mis·tun·ing.
  • non·tuned, adjective
  • re·tune, verb (used with object), re·tuned, re·tun·ing.
  • un·der·tune, noun
  • un·der·tune, verb (used with object), un·der·tuned, un·der·tun·ing.
  • un·tuned, adjective
  • well-tuned, adjective

Words Nearby tune

Other definitions for Tune (2 of 2)

Tune
[ toon, tyoon ]

noun
  1. Thomas James "Tommy", born 1939, U.S. dancer, choreographer, actor, singer, and director.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tune in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tune

tune

/ (tjuːn) /


noun
  1. a melody, esp one for which harmony is not essential

  2. the most important part in a musical texture: the cello has the tune at that point

  1. the condition of producing accurately pitched notes, intervals, etc (esp in the phrases in tune, out of tune): he can't sing in tune

  2. accurate correspondence of pitch and intonation between instruments (esp in the phrases in tune, out of tune): the violin is not in tune with the piano

  3. the correct adjustment of a radio, television, or some other electronic circuit with respect to the required frequency (esp in the phrases in tune, out of tune)

  4. a frame of mind; disposition or mood

  5. obsolete a musical sound; note

  6. call the tune to be in control of the proceedings

  7. change one's tune, sing another tune or sing another a different tune to alter one's attitude or tone of speech

  8. to the tune of informal to the amount or extent of: costs to the tune of a hundred pounds

verb
  1. to adjust (a musical instrument or a changeable part of one) to a certain pitch

  2. to adjust (a note, etc) so as to bring it into harmony or concord

  1. (tr) to adapt or adjust (oneself); attune: to tune oneself to a slower life

  2. (tr often foll by up) to make fine adjustments to (an engine, machine, etc) to obtain optimum performance

  3. electronics to adjust (one or more circuits) for resonance at a desired frequency

  4. obsolete to utter (something) musically or in the form of a melody; sing

  5. tune someone grief Southern African slang to annoy or harass someone

Origin of tune

1
C14: variant of tone

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with tune

tune

In addition to the idioms beginning with tune

  • tune in
  • tune out
  • tune up

also see:

  • call the tune
  • carry a tune
  • change one's tune
  • dance to another tune
  • in tune
  • to the tune of

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.