fine-tune

American  

[fahyn-toon, -tyoon] / ˈfaɪnˈtun, -ˈtjun /

verb (used with object)

fine-tunes, present (3rd person singular) fine-tuned, past participle, past fine-tuning present participle

1. to tune (a radio or television receiver) to produce the optimum reception for the desired station or channel by adjusting a control knob or bar.

2. tune.

3. to make minor adjustments in so as to produce stability, improvement, or the precise results desired.

   to fine-tune the nation's economy.

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fine-tune British  

verb

1. (tr) to make fine adjustments to (something) in order to obtain optimum performance

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• fine-tuner
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• fine-tuning
  present
• fine-tuned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fine-tune
  simple
• fine-tunes
  simple
• have fine-tuned
  perfect
• has fine-tuned
  perfect
• am fine-tuning
  progressive
• are fine-tuning
  progressive
• is fine-tuning
  progressive
• have been fine-tuning
  perfect progressive
• has been fine-tuning
  perfect progressive

Past

• fine-tuned
  simple
• had fine-tuned
  perfect
• was fine-tuning
  progressive
• were fine-tuning
  progressive
• had been fine-tuning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fine-tune
  simple
• will have fine-tuned
  perfect
• will be fine-tuning
  progressive
• will have been fine-tuning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of fine-tune

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fine-tune fine-tunes fine-tuned fine-tuning

A 4-2 defeat to Real Sociedad on Tuesday will irritate their perfectionist head coach, but there is plenty of time for him to fine-tune the Europa League holders before the start of the new campaign.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

But its longtime focus on using data and analytics to fine-tune and reset its pricing, and on improving its own systems, helped it rebound faster than others, analysts said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

"GLM-5.2 is free to download, fine-tune, and run on an enterprise's own servers, putting pricing pressure on frontier labs at the same time that access looks shaky," AI analyst Andrew Curran noted.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

That means scientists could potentially fine-tune the exchange statistics experimentally, creating opportunities to explore a wide range of new quantum phenomena.

From Science Daily ● May 9, 2026

We conducted focus groups to test-market our branding for the project, enlisting the pro bono help of PR professionals to fine-tune the message.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Using placebo pain relief, they discovered a map-like system that fine-tunes pain control for specific regions, such as the face, arms, or legs.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2025

“I just feel like this woman has a little bit of mystery and strength,” Althouse says, as Soria fine-tunes the woman’s leg.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2025

Thursday’s economic data will likely get revised a couple times as the U.S. government fine-tunes the numbers.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2024

Once a year, she travels to the company’s offices in Brussels and fine-tunes their scents.

From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 2024

"Tell me what you buy and I'll tell you who you are"-mug shots of all of us are taken continuously, by extremely inventive digital devices, while the market fine-tunes us.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai

Instead, AI was used to co-design the character: Erwin originally imagined a bald Moses, but based on Kingsley’s feedback, they fine-tuned the look with weathered hair and mustache.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

The Bureau of Labor Statistics fine-tuned its “birth-death model” in January, making initially reported job numbers less predictable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

And through his new scientific network, he met a professor at the University of Queensland able to administer the fine-tuned treatment.

From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026

We believe fox8 was only the tip of the iceberg because better coders can filter out self-revealing posts or use open-source AI models fine-tuned to remove ethical guardrails.

From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2026

What to others would have been a muffling was to her alert senses, which were fine-tuned like the cats whiskers of an old wireless, an almost unbearable amplification.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

It was a poor percentage given the meticulous planning, expenses spared and fine-tuning details applied to this tournament.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

Starmer promised a politics that “would tread more lightly on voters’ lives” and would be guided by moderate policies aimed at fine-tuning the state rather than overhauling it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

While they shot in black and white on set with a digital camera and customized image mapping, the conversion was done in parallel: colorizing the monochrome footage with different mapping and fine-tuning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

The execution could do with a little fine-tuning.

From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026

But before the new genre could become a universally addictive sensation it needed to undergo some fine-tuning, particularly in its choice of instruments.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• adjust
• calibrate
• tweak