tuner
Americannoun
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a person or thing that tunes.
-
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
His talent caught the attention of a piano tuner who surprised him with an amazing gift - a grand piano.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2023
At 17 branches, you can borrow a ukulele, each with its own case, book of chords and a tuner.
From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2022
Each instrument comes with a case, a book of chords and a tuner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2022
A piano tuner works by listening to and timing these beats, rather than by being able to "hear" equal temperament intervals precisely.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
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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
Handwrytten’s clients include “everything from piano tuners and solar panel installers to Realtors and large retailers,” said David Wachs, CEO.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 27, 2022
One of the most famous examples is: How many piano tuners are there in Chicago?
From New York Times ● Aug. 31, 2021
By contrast, the Fire TV Recast starts at $229 and includes 500GB of DVR space and two tuners.
From The Verge ● Sep. 26, 2018
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
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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.