an adjustment, as of a motor, to improve working order or condition.
The car needs a tune-up badly.
Informal. a preparatory activity or warm-up, as before a contest or game.
The track meet served as a tune-up for the Olympics.
to adjust (a musical instrument) to a particular pitch, esp a standard one
(esp of an orchestra or other instrumental ensemble) to tune (instruments) to a common pitch
(tr) to adjust (an engine) in (a car, etc) to improve performance
First recorded in 1945–50; noun use of verb phrase tune up
A tune-up is a procedure that's done periodically to keep a car running well. You might want to take your car in for a tune-up before leaving on a cross-country road trip. A tune-up is typically a series of small repairs and adjustments to a car's engine — not so much to fix something that's broken but to help the car run more efficiently or to keep it running longer. Sometimes tune-up is also used in the context of sports or exercise: "The volleyball team had one last tune-up before the big match." Tune-up comes from the "musical adjustment" meaning of tune.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Only three of the top 10 players participated in the Queen’s Club tune up tournament in London, compared to six playing last week in Berlin in a contest of similar scale.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 21, 2026
But it was intriguing: Oboists are treated with great care because the whole orchestra has to tune up to an oboe.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025
The opportunity to tune up under lights will be largely passed in the name of unity and morale.
From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025
Flutes and drums tune up as spectators begin to line the curbs and balconies along the street.
From Salon • Nov. 8, 2025
It was too late to tune up for my performance.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
