tone

tone¹ W2 [təun US toun] n

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1¦(voice)¦

2¦(sound)¦

3¦(general feeling/attitude)¦

4¦(colour)¦

5¦(electronic sound)¦

6 raise/lower the tone (of something)

7¦(body)¦

8¦(music)¦

9¦(voice level)¦

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[Date: 1200-1300; : Latin; Origin: tonus 'tension, tone', from Greek tonos]

1.) ¦(VOICE)¦

the way your voice sounds, which shows how you are feeling or what you mean

in a ... tone

▪ 'You must be Annie,' he said in a friendly tone.

in sb's tone

▪ There was urgency in his tone.

▪ Her tone was sharp with anger.

▪ It was obvious from her tone of voice that she didn't like me.

don't take that tone with me

(=do not speak to me in that rude or unpleasant way)

2.) ¦(SOUND)¦ [U and C]

the quality of a sound, especially the sound of a musical instrument or someone's voice

→↑pitch, timbre ↑timbre

▪ the guitar's clean tone

in ... tones

▪ They talked in hushed tones.

▪ 'No I didn't,' he said in a low tone (=quietly) .

deep-toned/even-toned/shrill-toned etc

(=having a low, calm etc tone)

▪ an even-toned voice

3.) ¦(GENERAL FEELING/ATTITUDE)¦ [singular, U]

the general feeling or attitude expressed in a piece of writing, a speech, an activity etc

tone of

▪ The tone of the report was radical.

▪ The meetings were noted for their deeply religious tone.

in tone

▪ The article was moderate in tone.

set the tone (for/of sth)

(=establish the general attitude or feeling of an event, activity etc)

▪ Opening remarks are important since they set the tone for the rest of the interview.

4.) ¦(COLOUR)¦ [U and C]

one of the many types of a particular colour, each slightly darker, lighter, brighter etc than the next

= ↑shade tone of

▪ different tones of green

▪ Perhaps a darker tone would be better.

▪ your skin tone (=the colour of your skin)

in tone

▪ The dried colour is slightly deeper in tone than it appears when first applied.

→↑two-tone

5.) ¦(ELECTRONIC SOUND)¦

a sound made by electronic equipment, such as a telephone

▪ Please leave a message after the tone.

dial tone

AmE /dialling tone

BrE (=the sound you hear when you pick up the telephone that lets you know that you can make a call)

busy tone

AmE /engaged tone

BrE (=the sound you hear when you telephone someone but they are already talking to someone else)

6.) raise/lower the tone (of sth)

to make a place or event more or less socially acceptable, attractive etc

▪ That horrible building lowers the whole tone of the neighborhood.

▪ Trust you to lower the tone of the conversation (=by making rude remarks etc) .

7.) ¦(BODY)¦[U]

technical how firm and strong your muscles or skin are

▪ A regular brisk walk will improve muscle tone .

8.) ¦(MUSIC)¦ technical

the difference in ↑pitch between two musical notes that are separated by one ↑key on the piano

American Equivalent: step

9.) ¦(VOICE LEVEL)¦ technical

how high or low your voice is when you produce different sounds

▪ There is a falling tone on the first syllable and a rising tone on the other.

tone ²

tone² v [T]

also tone up

to improve the strength and firmness of your muscles, skin etc

▪ Exercise can strengthen and tone muscles.

▪ He began to use weights in order to tone up his body.

▪ a well-toned body

tone down [tone sth<=>down] phr v

1.) to reduce the effect of something such as a speech or piece of writing, so that people will not be offended

▪ His advisers told him to tone down his speech.

2.) to make a colour less bright

▪ Blue can be used to tone down very sunny rooms.

tone in phr v

if one colour or pattern tones in with another, they are similar and look good together

tone in with

▪ Choose candles that will tone in with your tablecloth and china.