overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

tone.

A specific pitch.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈtəʊn/Received-Pronunciation[ˈtʰəʊ̯n]Received-Pronunciation/ˈtoʊn/Canada, General-American[ˈtʰoʊ̯n] ~ [ˈtʰəʊ̯n]Canada, General-American
  1. A specific pitch.

  2. (in the diatonic scale) An interval of a major second.

  3. (in a Gregorian chant) A recitational melody.

  4. The character of a sound, especially the timbre of an instrument or voice.

  5. The pitch of a word's sound that distinguishes a difference in meaning, as for example in Chinese.

  6. A whining style of speaking; a kind of mournful or artificial strain of voice; an affected speaking with a measured rhythm and a regular rise and fall of the voice.

    dated
    Children often read with a tone.
  7. The manner in which speech or writing is expressed, especially the aspects of diction (word choice), connotation, emotiveness, and register.

  8. State of mind; temper; mood.

    obsolete
  9. The shade or quality of a colour.

  10. The favourable effect of a picture produced by the combination of light and shade, or of colours.

    This picture has tone.
  11. The definition and firmness of a muscle or organ; see also: tonus.

  12. 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.

  13. Normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli.

  14. a gun

    slang
  15. The general character, atmosphere, mood, or vibe (of a situation, place, etc.).

    figuratively
    Her rousing speech gave an upbeat tone to the rest of the evening.
  16. The quality of being respectable or admirable.

    figuratively
Where this word comes from

From Middle English ton, tone, from Latin tonus (“sound, tone”) (possibly through Old French ton), from Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos, “strain, tension, pitch”), from τείνω (teínō, “to stretch”). Doublet of tune, ton, tonos, and tonus.

verb/ˈtəʊn/Received-Pronunciation[ˈtʰəʊ̯n]Received-Pronunciation/ˈtoʊn/Canada, General-American[ˈtʰoʊ̯n] ~ [ˈtʰəʊ̯n]Canada, General-American
  1. to give a particular tone to

    transitive
  2. to change the colour of

    transitive
  3. to make (something) firmer

    transitive
  4. to utter with an affected tone.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English ton, tone, from Latin tonus (“sound, tone”) (possibly through Old French ton), from Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos, “strain, tension, pitch”), from τείνω (teínō, “to stretch”). Doublet of tune, ton, tonos, and tonus.

pron
  1. the one (of two)

    dialectal
Where this word comes from

From Middle English tone, ton, toon, from the incorrect division of thet one (“the/that one”). Compare Scots tane in the tane; see also tother.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

tone has 4 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

tone studiotone workshello, tone

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.