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• tune
  tune

  noun

  a succession of musical sounds forming a melody, with or without the harmony accompanying it.
• Tune
  Tune

  noun

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

tune

¹ American  

[toon, tyoon] / tun, tjun /

noun

• tunes
  plural

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.

3. the state of being in the proper pitch.

   He struggled to keep his guitar in tune on stage.

4. agreement in pitch; unison or harmony.

   The two voices were perfectly in tune.

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

6. 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.

7. Archaic. frame of mind; mood.

8. Obsolete. a tone or sound.

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verb (used with object)

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

1. to adjust (a musical instrument) to a correct or given standard of pitch (often followed byup ).

   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.

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

4. 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.

5. Radio and Television.

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

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

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

6. 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.

   Synonyms:

   balance, harmonize

7. Archaic.

   1. to utter, sound, or express musically.

   2. to play upon (a lyre).

verb (used without object)

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

1. to put a musical instrument in tune (often followed byup ).

   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.

   Synonyms:

   chime

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

verb phrase

1. tune out

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

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

2. tune up

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

   2. to begin to sing.

   3. to bring into proper operating order, as a motor.

      Before starting on our trip we should have the car tuned up.

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

idioms

1. to the tune of, in or about the amount of.

   In order to expand, they will need capital to the tune of six million dollars.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. stay tuned,

   1. to continue watching a television channel or listening to a radio station.

      Stay tuned for more classic and contemporary hits.

   2. 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.

5. call the tune, to decide matters of policy; control.

   He was technically running the business, but his father still called the tune.

Tune ² American  

[toon, tyoon] / tun, tjun /

noun

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

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tune British  

/ 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

3. the condition of producing accurately pitched notes, intervals, etc (esp in the phrases in tune, out of tune )

   he can't sing in tune

4. 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

5. 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 )

6. a frame of mind; disposition or mood

7. obsolete a musical sound; note

8. to be in control of the proceedings

9. to alter one's attitude or tone of speech

10. informal to the amount or extent of

    costs to the tune of a hundred pounds

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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

3. (tr) to adapt or adjust (oneself); attune

   to tune oneself to a slower life

4. to make fine adjustments to (an engine, machine, etc) to obtain optimum performance

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

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

7. slang to annoy or harass someone

tune More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing tune

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• undertune
  noun
• mistune
  verb
• retune
  verb (used with object)
• undertune
  verb (used with object)
• nontuned
  adjective
• untuned
  adjective
• well-tuned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tunes
  plural

Participles

• tuning
  present
• tuned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

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

Past

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

Future

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

Etymology

Origin of tune

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

Explanation

A tune is what you whistle when you're feeling cheerful. It's a melody or a specific sequence of musical notes. Before playing a tune on your guitar, you might want to tune it — in other words, adjust its pitch so it sounds right. As a verb, there are several meanings of tune. You can tune a radio, or adjust the dial until you can heard a certain station, and you can tune a car, or adjust its engine so it works correctly. Tune comes from tone and its Proto-Indo-European root, ten-, "to stretch."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tune Tune tunes tuned tuning

Retirees will be asked to contribute to the tune of 5.5 billion euros, according to the plan.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

For nurses, the barrage of alarms can be overwhelming, making it easier to tune them out—including when they indicate actual patient deterioration.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

On a recent episode of What Next, host Mary Harris spoke to Pulido about what Democrats misunderstand about South Texas and whether he’s singing the right tune for Congress.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

The overwhelmingly positive response to Peña’s rendition of the Morrissey-penned tune let him know that people had an appetite to see the Smiths and mariachi blended together.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

I strum a couple of chords from a tune I’m hoping to play tonight.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Tune into a smartphone soap opera: Are we entering a new phase of television?

From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026

The old move is the easiest one: Tune out the noise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Tune in to the Lakers’ matchup against the New York Knicks on the NBC Sports debut of “Basketball Night in America” on Sunday night to find out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026

Police said three other dives, which took place near Nashville's John C Tune airport, were successfully completed prior to the fatal fall.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2025

Figure 6.20: Tune in C minor too low for some sopranos voices.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

As a proud Welsh speaker, Lewis, from Neath, had started translating some of her favourite tunes, and soon landed on the Parton classic, Jolene.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

This conversation, which took place in a backstage trailer vibrating from the country and hip-hop tunes emanating from nearby stages, has been edited for length and clarity.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026

We turned the tunes on full blast, and neither of us had laughed that hard in years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Webb eschews the Wagnerian method of film scoring—dark motifs for the evil characters, bright tunes for the good ones—in favor of fluid, shifting psychological music, a forerunner of Hitchcock’s scores with Bernard Herrmann.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

“Dude, don’t try to tell me you were just going for the coffee or the folk tunes they play on the speakers. I know you better than that.”

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

"The ocean is an acoustic environment, and sharks are clearly tuned into it in ways we are only beginning to understand," Kajiura said.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

Episodes are chopped up into two-minute dopamine hits, with endless cliff-hangers and plot twists to keep viewers tuned in.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

Ms. Davis nods to pianist Cecil Taylor, whose style on his instrument was described as “88 tuned drums,” as a cornerstone influence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

As a result, far fewer viewers are leaving their sets tuned to CBS after switching off for the night.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

A TV in the corner was tuned to Animal Planet.

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

Beyond the broadcast networks, the wider media ecosystem is tuning him out.

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026

Along with other countries like Canada and Australia, Porchfests have been tuning up in more locations across the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

It’s an idea that simply to get through the day we are playing a role of sorts, tuning our conversations to please others, or presenting exaggerated, false or tidied-up versions of ourselves on social media.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

But these safeguards are easily bypassed by "tuning kits" or software hacks that make them capable of running much faster, sometimes in excess of 40mph.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Spend as much time as necessary tuning whenever you play.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Related Words

• composition
• ditty
• jingle
• piece
• theme