tune out

verb

tuned out; tuning out; tunes out

transitive verb

: to become unresponsive to : ignore

intransitive verb

: to dissociate oneself from what is happening or one's surroundings

Examples of tune out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But make every single show, from The Acolyte to True Detective: Night Country a piece of political propaganda, where a narrow political worldview somehow supersedes the very fundamentals of what makes great entertainment or art, and people will tune out. Erik Kain, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024 Constituencies who had tuned out of the campaign are tuning back in. David Morgan, CBS News, 6 Sep. 2024 The Ambient Aware feature is also a great add-on for runners, who may want to listen to their tunes without totally tuning out the world around them. Emily Abbate, SELF, 14 Oct. 2024 Lennon had, quite literally, tuned out of the pop music scene, shunning Top 40 radio in favor of easy listening or classical stations. Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 12 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for tune out 

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

Word History

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of tune out was in 1908

Dictionary Entries Near tune out

Cite this Entry

“Tune out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tune%20out. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

tune out

verb
: to stop paying attention to what is happening or to one's surroundings
thinking about the work and tuning everything else out

More from Merriam-Webster on tune out

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!