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tune

UK/tjuːn/ US/tʃuːn/ common informal slang uk
noun (3) verb (2)

noun

1.

a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence

  • “she was humming an air from Beethoven”
Synonyms
2.

the property of producing accurately a note of a given pitch

  • “he cannot sing in tune”
  • “the clarinet was out of tune”
3.

verb

1.

adjust for (better) functioning

  • “tune the engine”
Synonyms
2.

of musical instruments

  • “My piano needs to be tuned”
Synonyms
Antonyms

Origin

From Middle English tune, an unexplained variant of tone, from Old French ton, from Latin tonus, from Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos, “a tone”). Doublet of tone, ton, and tonus.

Phrases

  • call the tune
  • can't carry a tune in a bucket
  • carry a tune
  • change of tune
  • change one's tune
  • change someone's tune
  • coon tune
  • crooked tune
  • stay tuned
  • tune down
  • tune in
  • tune in, turn on, drop out

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.