- a series of musical notes that are sung or played in a particular order to form a piece of music
- to sing/whistle a tune
- He was humming a familiar tune.
- I can play a few tunes on the piano.
- I don't know the title but I recognize the tune.
- It was a catchy tune (= easy to remember).
- to the tune of something a football song sung to the tune of (= using the tune of) ‘When the saints go marching in’
- a show/dance/pop tune
Collocations MusicMusicListeningsee also signature tune, theme tune- listen to/enjoy/love/be into music/classical music/jazz/pop/hip-hop, etc.
- listen to the radio/an MP3 player/a CD
- put on/play a CD/a song/some music
- turn down/up the music/radio/volume/bass
- go to a concert/festival/gig/performance/recital
- copy/burn/rip music/a CD/a DVD
- download/stream music/an album/a song/a video/a playlist
- play a musical instrument/the piano/percussion/a note/a riff/the melody/a concerto/a duet/by ear
- sing an anthem/a ballad/a solo/an aria/the blues/in a choir/soprano/alto/tenor/bass/out of tune
- hum a tune/a theme tune/a lullaby
- accompany a singer/choir
- strum a chord/guitar
- form/start/get together/join/quit/leave a band
- give a performance/concert/recital
- do a concert/recital/gig
- play a concert/gig/festival/venue
- perform (British English) at/in a concert/(especially North American English) a concert
- appear at a festival/live
- go on/embark on a (world) tour
- write/compose music/a ballad/a melody/a tune/a song/a theme song/an opera/a symphony
- land/get/sign a record deal
- be signed to/be dropped by a record company
- record/release/put out an album/a single/a CD
- be top of/top the charts
- get to/go straight to/go straight in at/enter the charts at number one
Extra ExamplesTopics Musicb2- The kids were picking out a popular tune on the old piano.
- a collection of classic tunes
- an old jazz tune
- He wasn't allowed in the choir because he couldn't hold a tune (= sing the correct notes).
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- little
- good
- great
- …
- hum
- play (somebody)
- sing
- …
- to the tune of something
Word Originlate Middle English: unexplained alteration of tone. The verb is first recorded (late 15th cent.) in the sense ‘celebrate in music, sing’.
Idioms
See tune in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarybe in/out of tune
- to be/not be singing or playing the correct musical notes to sound pleasant
- None of them could sing in tune.
- The piano is out of tune.
be in/out of tune (with somebody/something)
- to be/not be in agreement with somebody/something; to have/not have the same opinions, feelings, interests, etc. as somebody/something
- These proposals are perfectly in tune with our own thoughts on the subject.
- The President is out of tune with public opinion.
call the shots/tune
- (informal) to be the person who controls a situation
change your tune
- (informal) to express a different opinion or behave in a different way when your situation changes
- Wait until it happens to him—he'll soon change his tune.
dance to somebody’s tune
- to do whatever somebody tells you to
he who pays the piper calls the tune
- (saying) the person who provides the money for something can also control how it is spent
march to (the beat of) a different drummer/drum | march to a different beat/tune
- to behave in a different way from other people; to have different attitudes or ideas
- She was a gifted and original artist who marched to a different drummer.
sing a different tune
- to change your opinion about somebody/something or your attitude towards somebody/somethingTopics Opinion and argumentc2
to the tune of something
- (informal) used to emphasize how much money something has cost
- The hotel has been refurbished to the tune of a million dollars.
Check pronunciation:
tune