1 [C,U] the quality of a sound or of sb's voice, especially expressing a particular emotion 音调;音质;语调;语气:
‘Do you know each other?’ she asked in a casual tone of voice.她随口问道﹕“你们互相认识吗?”
2 [sing] the general quality or style of sth 风格;格调:
The tone of the meeting was optimistic.这次会议的基调是乐观的。
3 [C] a shade of a colour 色调:
warm tones of red and orange红色和橙色的暖色调
4 [C] a sound that you hear on the telephone 打电话时听到的信号:
Please speak after the tone (= an instruction on an answering machine).听到电话录音机的指令就请说话。
5 [C] one of the longer steps between the notes in a musical scale, for example between C and D, or between E and F# 全音(如介于C与D或E与F#之间的)
☞Compare semitone. 与semitone比较。
tone²
/təʊn ||; ton/verb
[T] tone sth (up) to make your muscles, skin, etc firmer, especially by doing exercise 使(肌肉、皮肤等)更结实(尤指通过锻炼)
tone sth down to change sth that you have said, written, etc, to make it less likely to offend 使话语、文章等语气缓和