tone

tone1 [ toun ] noun ***

▸ 1 sound of voice

▸ 2 character of something

▸ 3 quality of voice etc.

▸ 4 signal/warning sound

▸ 5 color

▸ 6 of musical note

▸ 7 firmness of muscles etc.

▸ 8 in linguistics

1. ) count or uncount the sound of someone's voice that shows what they are feeling:

Meredith trembled at the tenderness in his tone.

a tone of voice: Really? Simone said in a disbelieving tone of voice.

Don't you take that tone of voice with me (=don't speak to me so rudely)!

a ) the type of sound that someone makes with their voice in a particular situation:

They were sitting close together, talking in hushed tones.

2. ) singular or uncount the general character of a place or event:

The positive tone of the evening had changed completely.

set the tone (for something): The opening remarks set the tone for the rest of the interview.

raise/lower the tone (of something): Trust you to lower the tone of the whole conversation!

a ) the general attitude shown by a piece of writing:

Much of his writing has a strident tone to it.

in tone: Their next letter was more optimistic in tone.

3. ) count or uncount the quality of the sound made by a musical instrument, voice, or piece of electronic equipment:

a flute with a clear bright tone

4. ) count a sound made by a piece of equipment as a signal or warning:

I picked up the phone and just got a beeping tone.

5. ) count a color, or a particular SHADE (=type) of a color:

a plaid skirt in subtle tones of purple and green

her olive skin tone

6. ) count an amount equal to two HALF STEPS by which a musical note is higher or lower than another note

7. ) uncount the firmness or healthy quality of your body, muscles, or skin:

muscle/skin tone: The patient's general muscle tone is good.

8. ) count or uncount LINGUISTICS the degree to which the sound of a word or part of a word is high or low:

You use a rising tone in English to indicate a question.

tone

tone 2 [ toun ] verb

1. ) tone or tone up transitive to make your body, muscles, or skin more firm and healthy:

She quickly cleansed, toned, and moisturized her face.

I'm exercising regularly to tone my muscles.

2. ) tone or tone in intransitive tone with BRITISH if something tones with something else they look good together because their colors are similar

,tone `down phrasal verb transitive

1. ) to make something less severe, shocking, or offensive:

Both sides agreed to tone down their speeches in order to avoid an argument.

2. ) to make a color less strong or bright

,tone `in phrasal verb intransitive BRITISH

same as TONE 2 2:

tone in with: The curtains tone in nicely with the wallpaper.

,tone `up phrasal verb transitive

same as TONE 2 1:

He'd lost some weight and toned his muscles up.