📒 the quality of somebody’s voice, especially expressing a particular emotion
- speaking in hushed/low/clipped/measured, etc. tones
- a conversational tone
- a tone of surprise
📒 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.
- Trust you to lower the tone of the conversation (= for example by telling a rude joke).
📒 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 sweet tone of the flute
- the volume and tone controls on a car stereo
📒 a shade of a colour
- a carpet in warm tones of brown and orange
- You should use a foundation that matches your skin tone.
- Dark, rich tones will absorb light to make a room look smaller.
📒 how strong and tight your muscles or skin are
- how to improve your muscle/skin tone
📒 a sound heard on a phone line
- the dialling tone
- (North American English) the dial tone
- Please speak after the tone (= for example as an instruction on an answering machine).
📒 one of the five longer intervals in a musical scale, for example the interval between C and D or between E and F♯
📒 the pitch (= how high or low a sound is) of a syllable in speaking
📒 a particular pitch pattern on a syllable in languages such as Chinese, that can be used to recognize the difference in meanings
📒 having the type of tone mentioned
- a bright-toned soprano
- olive-toned skin