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tone

From Wiktionary

Pronunciation

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Noun

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Singular
tone

Plural
tones

  1. (music) A specific pitch.
    "What's your favourite tone?" asked the teacher of music.
  2. The character of a sound, especially the timbre of an instrument or voice.
    He needed more practice to get proper control of the tone on his oboe.
  3. General character, mood, or trend.
    I don't like the tone of your tenant.
  4. (linguistics) The pitch of a word that distinguishes a difference in meaning, for example in Chinese.
  5. The manner in which speech or writing is expressed.
  6. The quality or shade of a colour.
    She was surprised at how many tones of sage green there were in the paint shop.
  7. The definition and firmness of a muscle or organ.
  8. (biology) The state of a living body or of any of its organs or parts in which the functions are healthy and performed with due vigor.
  9. (biology) Normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli.

Verb

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Plain form
tone

Third-person singular
tones

Past tense
toned

Past participle
toned

Present participle
toning

  1. (transitive) To give a particular tone to (something).
  2. (transitive) To change the colour of (something).
    The landlord asked the painter to tone the border a bit.
  3. (transitive) To make (something) firmer.
    He found doing more sit ups helped to tone his muscles.