tune

A2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /tuːn/ See IPA manual

Freq #3269

Meanings

1

noun
A series of musical notes that make a pleasant pattern; a melody.

Eric played a catchy tune on his guitar.
2

verb
To adjust a musical instrument so that it produces the correct notes.

My piano needs to be tuned.
3

noun
The correct level of musical pitch.

They were all singing in tune.
4

verb
To adjust a machine or engine so that it works better.

The mechanic tuned the engine before the long trip.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a series of musical notes... melody

2 verb · to adjust a musical... tune up

4 verb · to adjust a machine or... tune up

Word family

Forms tunedtunestuning

Derived forms auto-tunecross-tunefine-tuneshowtunesubtunetune-uptuneful tunelesstuneliketunemeistertunertunesmith

Related forms attune tone

Appears in

Phrases (1)

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signature tune
a melody closely associated with a performer or broadcast program

Noun + noun

Idioms (1)

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to the tune of
amounting to a stated, usually substantial, quantity or sum

Proverbs (4)

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Etymology

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.

*ten- Proto-Indo-European tune Middle English ton Middle English tonus Latin τόνος Ancient Greek

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Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# tune

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /tuːn/
**Frequency rank:** 3269

## Meanings
1. A series of musical notes that make a pleasant pattern; a melody.
2. To adjust a musical instrument so that it produces the correct notes.
3. The correct level of musical pitch.
4. To adjust a machine or engine so that it works better.

## Examples
- Eric played a catchy tune on his guitar.
- My piano needs to be tuned.
- They were all singing in tune.
- The mechanic tuned the engine before the long trip.

## Derived Forms
- auto-tune
- cross-tune
- fine-tune
- showtune
- subtune
- tune-up
- tuneful
- tuneless
- tunelike
- tunemeister
- tuner
- tunesmith

## Related Forms
- attune
- tone

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ten-
- Root: tune
- Root: ton
- Root: tonus
- Root: τόνος

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
Tune is 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. The historical line also includes Proto-Indo-European *ten-, Middle English tune, Old French ton, Latin tonus, Ancient Greek τόνος. In present-day use, it can mean a series of musical notes that make a pleasant pattern; a melody, or to adjust a musical instrument so that it produces the correct notes. Derived formations include auto-tune, cross-tune, fine-tune, showtune, subtune, tune-up, tuneful, tuneless.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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tune

Meanings

Verb forms

Thesaurus

Appears in

Phrases (1)

Idioms (1)

Proverbs (4)

Etymology

Topics

External links

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