Etymology : Middle English, alteration of tone
Pronunciation : tün, tyün
Function : noun
Date : 14th century
1. melody; state of having the correct musical pitch; harmony; proper adjustment. adjust to obtain correct musical pitch; adjust to improve operation (e.g. a car engine); adjust to obtain operational conditions (e.g. radio frequency); coordinate, make harmonious; make a musical sound; adjust to a different goal or framework. tunetuned adj.
2. (music) brought to correct pitch; "his tuned violin"; "the attuned instruments" [syn: attuned].
3. so adjusted as to be appropriate or brought into harmony; "an industry not attuned to the demands of the market"; "a remark keyed to the situation"; "charges finely tuned to the amount a student can afford" [syn: attuned, keyed].
4. (music) tuned in equal temperament; or so tuned as to allow modulation into other keys.
5. A sound; a note; a tone.
6. A rhythmical, melodious, symmetrical series of tones for one voice or instrument, or for any number of voices or instruments in unison, or two or more such series forming parts in harmony; a melody; an air; as, a merry tune; a mournful tune; a slow tune; a psalm tune.
7. See Air.
8. The state of giving the proper, sound or sounds; just intonation; harmonious accordance; pitch of the voice or an instrument; adjustment of the parts of an instrument so as to harmonize with itself or with others; as, the piano, or the organ, is not in tune.
9. Order; harmony; concord; fit disposition, temper, or humor; right mood.
10. To put into a state adapted to produce the proper sounds; to harmonize, to cause to be in tune; to correct the tone of; as, to tune a piano or a violin.
11. To give tone to; to attune; to adapt in style of music; to make harmonious.
12. To sing with melody or harmony.
13. To put into a proper state or disposition.
14. To form one sound to another; to form accordant musical sounds.
15. To utter inarticulate harmony with the voice; to sing without pronouncing words; to hum. the adjustment of a radio receiver or other circuit to a required frequency the property of producing accurately a note of a given pitch; "he cannot sing in tune"; "the clarinet was out of tune" a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she was humming an air from Beethoven" of musical instruments; "My piano needs to be tuned" adjust for functioning; "tune the engine".
16. 1. A tune is a series of musical notes that is pleasant and easy to remember. She was humming a merry little tune. = melody.
17. You can refer to a song or a short piece of music as a tune. She'll also be playing your favourite pop tunes.
18. When someone tunes a musical instrument, they adjust it so that it produces the right notes. `We do tune our guitars before we go on,' he insisted. Tune up means the same as tune. Others were quietly tuning up their instruments.
19. When an engine or machine is tuned, it is adjusted so that it works well. Drivers are urged to make sure that car engines are properly tuned. Tune up means the same as tune. The shop charges up to $500 to tune up a Porsche.
20. If your radio or television is tuned to a particular broadcasting station, you are listening to or watching the programmes being broadcast by that station. A small colour television was tuned to an afternoon soap opera. see also:
fine-tune, signature tune, tuning fork.
21. If you say that a person or organization is calling the tune, you mean that they are in a position of power or control in a particular situation. Who would then be calling the tune in Parliament?.
22. disapproval If you say that someone has changed their tune, you are criticizing them because they have changed their opinion or way of doing things. You've changed your tune since this morning, haven't you?.
23. disapproval If you say that someone is dancing to someone else's tune, you mean that they are allowing themselves to be controlled by the other person. The danger of commercialism is that the churches end up dancing to the tune of their big business sponsors.
24. A person or musical instrument that is in tune produces exactly the right notes. A person or musical instrument that is out of tune does not produce exactly the right notes. It was just an ordinary voice, but he sang in tune Many of the notes are out of tune.
25. If you are in tune with a group of people, you are in agreement or sympathy with them. If you are out of tune with them, you are not in agreement or sympathy with them. Today, his change of direction seems more in tune with the times The peace campaigners were probably out of tune with most Britons.
26. To the tune of a particular amount of money means to the extent of that amount. They've been sponsoring the World Cup to the tune of a million and a half pounds.
27. he who pays the piper calls the tune: see:
piper.