tune

tune¹ S3 [tju:n US tu:n] n

[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: tone]

1.) a series of musical notes that are played or sung and are nice to listen to

= ↑melody

▪ Sam was humming a little tune .

▪ a hymn tune

▪ The song is sung to the tune of Colonel Bogey.

2.) in tune

playing or singing the correct musical note

▪ They sang perfectly in tune.

3.) out of tune

playing or singing higher or lower than the correct musical note

▪ Greg's bass guitar was out of tune.

4.) in tune with sb/sth, out of tune with sb/sth

able or unable to realize, understand, or agree with what someone else thinks or wants

▪ The industry is changing in tune with changing demand.

5.) to the tune of $1000/£2 million etc informal

used to emphasize how large an amount or number is

▪ Canada is funding the programme to the tune of $30 million.

→call the tune at ↑call¹ (9)

→change your tune at ↑change¹ (14)

→dance to sb's tune at ↑dance² (4)

→↑fine-tune

→↑signature tune

tune ²

tune² v [T]

1.) to make a musical instrument play at the right ↑pitch

▪ Someone's coming tomorrow to tune the piano.

2.) also tune up

to make small changes to an engine so that it works as well as possible

3.) to make a radio or television receive broadcasts from a particular place

tune sth to sth

▪ The radio was tuned to a classical station.

→stay tuned at ↑stay¹ (8)

4.) finely/highly tuned

finely tuned feelings, senses, or systems are extremely sensitive and able to react quickly

be tuned to sth

▪ a species finely tuned to life in the desert

tune in phr v

1.) to watch or listen to a broadcast on radio or television

tune in to

▪ People get their information by tuning in to foreign radio stations.

▪ More than 150 million Americans tuned in to watch the final episode.

2.) also be tuned in

to realize or understand what is happening or what other people are thinking

tune in to

▪ Try to tune in to your partner's needs.

▪ The company aims to be more tuned in to customer needs.

tune out phr v

to ignore or stop listening to someone or something

▪ A bored child may simply tune out.

tune sb/sth<=>out

▪ I learned to tune out the background noise.

tune up phr v

1.) when musicians tune up, they prepare their instruments to play at the right ↑pitch

tune sth<=>up

▪ The band were tuning up their guitars.

2.) tune sth<=>up

to make small changes to an engine so that it works as well as possible