tune
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.
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.
the state of being in the proper pitch: He struggled to keep his guitar in tune on stage.
agreement in pitch; unison or harmony: The two voices were perfectly in tune.
proper adjustment, as of radio instruments or circuits with respect to frequency.
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.
Archaic. frame of mind; mood.
Obsolete. a tone or sound.
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.
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.
to bring (someone or something) into harmony.
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.
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.
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.
Archaic.
to utter, sound, or express musically.
to play upon (a lyre).
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.
to give forth a musical sound.
to be in harmony or accord; become responsive.
tune in, to adjust a radio or television set so as to receive (signals, a particular station, etc.).
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.
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
call the tune, to decide matters of policy; control: He was technically running the business, but his father still called the tune.
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.
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.
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.
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
1Other 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
Other definitions for Tune (2 of 2)
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
A cool and laid back bar with a busy open mic night and a DJ spinning a variety of tunes.
Berkeley: A City That Fights for the Rights of All | LGBTQ-Editor | November 20, 2020 | No Straight NewsIt certainly does pay off—to the tune of up to $2,000 in average customer lifetime value in some cases, according to Stone.
Free money, big addictions: Inside the booming world of online sports betting | Brett Haensel | November 15, 2020 | FortuneThe downtown concert venue welcomes the Bad Influence Band for a night of classic blues and roots tunes.
The best things to do — virtually and in person — while social distancing in the D.C. area | Fritz Hahn, Hau Chu | November 12, 2020 | Washington PostTo avoid this, PepsiCo’s Walkers brand not only ditched TV but also turned to sausage roll crisps, karaoke tunes, a LadBaby cameo and a charity link for its own festive ad.
‘It’s difficult to make the right call’: The many faces of the U.K.’s coronavirus-era Christmas advertising | Seb Joseph | November 12, 2020 | DigidayA fellow Cuban conguero, Chano Pozo, worked with Gillespie and helped write some of the trumpeter’s most memorable tunes, including “Manteca” and “Tin Tin Deo.”
Candido Camero, ‘father of modern conga drumming,’ dies at 99 | Matt Schudel | November 12, 2020 | Washington Post
More than 20 million people tuned in to a broadcast network drama and saw two gay men have explicit sex.
Year of the Butt: How the Booty Changed the World in 2014 | Kevin Fallon | December 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe guitar is tuned to E, and an Eminor chord on a guitar just rings and rings forever.
If your ears are tired of slick auto-tuned vocals, pick up this disk for an aural detox.
Stay tuned for our definitive list of the top 10 cities to visit in 2015.
Why Your Next Vacation Will Be in Turkmenistan | Brandon Presser | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOne person who tuned into my story was Matt Creed, the director of Lily.
Michael Allcroft returned to his duties, tuned for labour, full of courage, and the spirit of enterprise and action.
D is the wire by which the tongue is tuned; E the body of the pipe which acts as a resonator.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building | George Laing MillerThe writer made its acquaintance in 1866, when it was tuned on the unequal temperament system.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building | George Laing MillerNothing like them ever heard beforeall tuned in the same key, as you musical fellows would say, and Perkins cocked his eye.
The Fifth String | John Philip SousaIn practice it appears that musicians tuned the tetrachord b-e of this scale with the Pythagorean two Major tones and leimma.
The Modes of Ancient Greek Music | David Binning Monro
British Dictionary definitions for tune
/ (tjuːn) /
a melody, esp one for which harmony is not essential
the most important part in a musical texture: the cello has the tune at that point
the condition of producing accurately pitched notes, intervals, etc (esp in the phrases in tune, out of tune): he can't sing in tune
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
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)
a frame of mind; disposition or mood
obsolete a musical sound; note
call the tune to be in control of the proceedings
change one's tune, sing another tune or sing another a different tune to alter one's attitude or tone of speech
to the tune of informal to the amount or extent of: costs to the tune of a hundred pounds
to adjust (a musical instrument or a changeable part of one) to a certain pitch
to adjust (a note, etc) so as to bring it into harmony or concord
(tr) to adapt or adjust (oneself); attune: to tune oneself to a slower life
(tr often foll by up) to make fine adjustments to (an engine, machine, etc) to obtain optimum performance
electronics to adjust (one or more circuits) for resonance at a desired frequency
obsolete to utter (something) musically or in the form of a melody; sing
tune someone grief Southern African slang to annoy or harass someone
Origin of tune
1Collins 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
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.
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