(linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages; "the Beijing dialect uses four tones"
the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author; "the general tone of articles appearing in the newspapers is that the government should withdraw"; "from the tone of her behavior I gathered that I had outstayed my welcome"
a steady sound without overtones; "they tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequencies"
a musical interval of two semitones
the quality of a person's voice; "he began in a conversational tone"; "he spoke in a nervous tone of voice"
give a healthy elasticity to; "Let's tone our muscles"
change to a color image; "tone a photographic image"
change the color or tone of; "tone a negative"
vary the pitch of one's speech
utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically; "The students chanted the same slogan over and over again"
the qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger (especially in battle); "he showed great heroism in battle"; "he received a medal for valor"
the number of observations in a given statistical category
the ratio of the number of observations in a statistical category to the total number of observations
the number of occurrences within a given time period; "the frequency of modulation was 40 cycles per second"; "the frequency of his seizures increased as he grew older"
having no special distinction or quality; widely known or commonly encountered; average or ordinary or usual; "the common man"; "a common sailor"; "the common cold"; "a common nuisance"; "followed common procedure"; "it is common knowledge that she lives alone"; "the common housefly"; "a common brand of soap"
belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public; "for the common good"; "common lands are set aside for use by all members of a community"
commonly encountered; "a common (or familiar) complaint"; "the usual greeting"
being or characteristic of or appropriate to everyday language; "common parlance"; "a vernacular term"; "vernacular speakers"; "the vulgar tongue of the masses"; "the technical and vulgar names for an animal species"
of or associated with the great masses of people; "the common people in those days suffered greatly"; "behavior that branded him as common"; "his square plebeian nose"; "a vulgar and objectionable person"; "the unwashed masses"
to be expected; standard; "common decency"
common to or shared by two or more parties; "a common friend"; "the mutual interests of management and labor"
contemptibly small in amount; "a measly tip"; "the company donated a miserable $100 for flood relief"; "a paltry wage"; "almost depleted his miserable store of dried beans"