tone

noun

• 1a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength:they were speaking in hushed tones the piano tone appears lacking in warmth
• a modulation of the voice expressing a particular feeling or mood:a firm tone of voice
• a musical note or other sound used as a signal on a telephone or answering machine.

• 2the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.:trust her to lower the tone of the conversation there was a general tone of ill-concealed glee in the reporting
• [mass noun] informal an atmosphere of respectability or class:they don’t feel he gives the place tone

• 3 (also whole tone) a basic interval in classical Western music, equal to two semitones and separating, for example, the first and second notes of an ordinary scale (such as C and D, or E and F sharp); a major second: the B flat clarinet’s part is written one tone higher than the pitch required

• 4the particular quality of brightness, deepness, or hue of a shade of a colour:stained glass in vivid tones of red and blue [mass noun]:an attractive colour which is even in tone and texture
• [mass noun] the general effect of colour or of light and shade in a picture.
• a slight degree of difference in the intensity of a colour.

• 5 Phonetics (in some languages, such as Chinese) a particular pitch pattern on a syllable used to make semantic distinctions.
• (in some languages, such as English) intonation on a word or phrase used to add functional meaning.

• 6 (also muscle tone) [mass noun] the normal level of firmness or slight contraction in a resting muscle: a reduction of muscle tone a certain amount of daily exercise is essential to maintain proper body tone and function
• Physiology the normal level of activity in a nerve fibre: vagal tone

verb

• 1give greater strength or firmness to (the body or a muscle):exercise tones up the muscles
• [no object] (tone up) (of a muscle or other bodily part) became stronger or firmer: his leg muscles had toned up

• 2 [no object] (tone with) harmonize with (something) in terms of colour:the rich orange colour of the wood tones beautifully with the yellow roses

• 3 Photography give (a monochrome picture) an altered colour in finishing by means of a chemical solution: it’s a good idea to sepia tone the whole print first