tuner
Americannoun
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a person or thing that tunes.
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the portion of a radio or television receiver that captures the broadcast signal and feeds it to other circuits in the set for further processing.
noun
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a person who tunes instruments, esp pianos
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the part of a radio or television receiver for selecting only those signals having a particular frequency
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tuner
1570–80; 1905–10 tuner for def. 2; tune + -er 1
Explanation
A tuner is an electronic device that receives signals and allows you to listen to the radio or watch television. Another kind of tuner is used to adjust the pitch of a musical instrument. One kind of tuner can receive digital signals so you can watch television, and another kind is built into your car radio. A person can be a tuner too, such as an expert who makes adjustments to a piano's strings until the pitch is correct. There are also small electronic tuners that attach to an instrument like a guitar. Before it meant "instrument adjuster," a tuner was a "musician or singer."
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:
A chance encounter with a piano tuner -- the husband of his wife's friend -- set him wondering what this previously unconsidered profession was all about.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
Drury, director of insights for Edmunds, believes the earth tones phenomenon may stem from car tuner subculture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2023
His talent caught the attention of a piano tuner who surprised him with an amazing gift - a grand piano.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2023
The piano tuner, Maria Caputo, sat on a rock nearby to tweak the instrument when needed, which was often because of the cold and damp.
From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2021
My inventive mother solved this problem by going to the mainland and finding a Crisfield piano tuner who could also give lessons.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
The venue has opened a tender for a new contractor to tune their pianos – and Terry says he's heard a rumour they could be replacing him with several tuners.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2025
Screenshot: Google.com Like most other guitar tuner apps, I don’t think Google Search’s feature is going to kill off the market for dedicated hardware tuners from the likes of Korg or Boss.
From The Verge ● Oct. 8, 2021
One of the most famous examples is: How many piano tuners are there in Chicago?
From New York Times ● Aug. 31, 2021
Bischofberger is mulling raising its current rental fees to offset the higher price of bows, tuners, cases and instruments it acquires via distributors from China, said manager Jacqueline Kamenzind.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 30, 2019
Clearly this was not satisfactory either for keyboard tuners or composers, who were in practical terms restricted to certain keys.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
