auto-tune

verb

au·​to-tune ˈȯ-ˌtō-ˌt(y)ün How to pronounce auto-tune (audio)
variants or Auto-Tune
auto-tuned or Auto-Tuned; auto-tuning or Auto-Tuning; auto-tunes or Auto-Tunes

transitive verb

: to adjust or alter (a recording) with Auto-Tune software especially to correct sung notes that are out of tune

Examples of auto-tune in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But the end result still sounds auto-tuned up the wazoo, zhuzhed further with great dollops of coloratura note-bending and wailing. Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2024 Their 2018 debut New Bois overflows with quirky genre hallmarks including cartoonish auto-tune and Nextel chirps, and even a couple of features from Polimá Westcoast. Richard Villegas, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2024 Many are out of tune despite the availability of auto-tuning vocals. Emilia David, The Verge, 18 Jan. 2024 The 1998 single pioneered the use of auto-tune technology in pop music. Zack Sharf, Variety, 15 Dec. 2023 Listen to the full episode of Into It to learn more about how Spears’s voice and sound — augmented, auto-tuned, yet authentic — ushered in a new era of pop music and pop stardom. Sam Sanders, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2023 Imaginations became liabilities, and by the time auto-tune reached ubiquity, rap had become a fantastically impotent and artistically irrelevant shadow of its former self. Jonathan Rowe, Spin, 11 Aug. 2023 No special effects, no Auto-Tune or background vocals, all this stuff. Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 3 Apr. 2023 There's heavy auto-tune on the verses, but then the pre-chorus is very soft, and people are singing it. Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 5 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'auto-tune.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Auto-Tune, trademark for a signal processor

First Known Use

1997, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of auto-tune was in 1997

Dictionary Entries Near auto-tune

Cite this Entry

“Auto-tune.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/auto-tune. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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