- 1[countable] the quality of someone's voice, especially expressing a particular emotion speaking in hushed/low/clipped/measured, etc. tones a conversational tone a tone of surprise Don't speak to me in that tone of voice (= in that unpleasant way). There's no need to take that tone with me—it's not my fault we're late. character/atmosphere
- 2[singular] the general character and attitude of something such as a piece of writing, or the atmosphere of an event The overall tone of the book is gently nostalgic. She set the tone for the meeting with a firm statement of company policy. Leave it to you to lower the tone of the conversation (= for example by telling a rude joke). The article was moderate in tone and presented both sides of the case. The newspaper said voters had been turned off by the negative tone of the campaign.
- 3[countable] the quality of a sound, especially the sound of a musical instrument or one produced by electronic equipment the full rich tone of the trumpet the volume and tone controls on a car stereo color
- 4[countable] a shade of a color a carpet in warm tones of brown and orange of muscles/skin
- 5[uncountable] how strong and firm your muscles or skin are how to improve your muscle/skin tone on telephone
- 6[countable] a sound heard on a telephone line the dial tone Please speak after the tone (= for example as an instruction on an answering machine). in music
- 7(also whole step) [countable] one of the five longer intervals in a musical scale, for example the interval between C and D or between E and F♯ compare step
- 8[countable] the pitch (= how high or low a sound is) of a syllable in speaking a rising/falling tone
- 9a particular pitch pattern on a syllable in languages such as Chinese, that can be used to distinguish different meanings -toned
- 10(in adjectives) having the type of tone mentioned a bright-toned soprano olive-toned skin
of voice
Check pronunciation: tone