tone (t?n)n.1. Music a. A sound of distinct pitch, quality, and duration; a note.b. The interval of a major second in the diatonic scale; a whole step.c. A recitational melody in a Gregorian chant.2. a. The quality or character of sound.b. The characteristic quality or timbre of a particular instrument or voice.3. a. The pitch of a word used to determine its meaning or to distinguish differences in meaning.b. The particular or relative pitch of a word, phrase, or sentence.4. Manner of expression in speech or writing: took an angry tone with the reporters.5. A general quality, effect, or atmosphere: a room with an elegant tone.6. a. A color or shade of color: light tones of blue.b. Quality of color: The green wallpaper had a particularly somber tone.7. The general effect in painting of light, color, and shade.8. Physiology a. The normal state of elastic tension or partial contraction in resting muscles.b. Normal firmness of a tissue or an organ.v. toned, ton·ing, tones v.tr.1. To give a particular tone or inflection to.2. To soften or change the color of (a painting or photographic negative, for example).3. To sound monotonously; intone.4. To make firmer or stronger. Often used with up: exercises that tone up the body.v.intr.1. To assume a particular color quality.2. To harmonize in color.Phrasal Verb: tone down To make less vivid, harsh, or violent; moderate.[Middle English ton, from Old French, from Latin tonus, from Greek tonos, string, a stretching; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.