fine-tune
Americanverb (used with object)
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fine-tunes,
present (3rd person singular)
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fine-tuned,
past participle, past
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fine-tuning
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fine-tunesimple
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fine-tunessimple
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have fine-tunedperfect
-
has fine-tunedperfect
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am fine-tuningprogressive
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are fine-tuningprogressive
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is fine-tuningprogressive
-
have been fine-tuningperfect progressive
-
has been fine-tuningperfect progressive
Past
-
fine-tunedsimple
-
had fine-tunedperfect
-
was fine-tuningprogressive
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were fine-tuningprogressive
-
had been fine-tuningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fine-tune
First recorded in 1920–25
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They can also make synapses more or less responsive, helping fine-tune communication within brain circuits.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
Now you just need to fine-tune your plans so the money works exactly as you want.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
If AI can help fine-tune the design of a clinical trial to improve its chances of success, that could end up being a big benefit, Soriot says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
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
Leo’s conversations with Nike had helped him fine-tune the plan, but he still wanted a second opinion from another god.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
The agency fine-tunes its employment estimates every year.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
Alibaba’s Qwen family alone accounts for 69% of new fine-tunes, while Meta’s Llama has collapsed from 44% to 11%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
"It's like a nutrient that fine-tunes how your body reads your genes," she said.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 7, 2026
“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
"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 Mihai Nadin
"This shows we can have incredibly fine-tuned control of sound, which might mean that devices that use sound as a fundamental technology can get much better," he said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
Ukraine began its drone campaign against Russian refineries and energy infrastructure about a year ago, but it has since fine-tuned the attacks, which are now more damaging, Columbia’s Mitrova said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Hodgkinson returned to winning ways by beating Broeders-Bol at the London Diamond League last month and has since fine-tuned her preparations in Portugal with her team.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
By early this year, 70% of all new fine-tuned models—the derivative works researchers and developers build on top of base models—were built on Chinese foundations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
I didn’t just listen, I fine-tuned my listener.
From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg
Instead of rushing out an album after the pandemic, Anthrax took their time writing and fine-tuning new songs before entering Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 in L.A. in 2022.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
While a typical AI for driving such a robot might require enormous amounts of training, this one just requires a few minutes of fine-tuning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Already, McDaniel has done some tinkering and fine-tuning, tweaking Herbert’s footwork out of the shotgun formation to allow him to get the ball out of his hands a fraction of a second earlier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Earlier this week, AI lab Thinking Machines announced its latest Inkling model, which used outputs generated by Kimi K2.5 during the fine-tuning phase.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Fiona’s taking me to Hankenstein’s today. It should be my last fine-tuning for a while.”
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
