Meaning & use
tune it out
Last updated
Meaning
phrasephrasal verbinformal
to stop paying attention to a sound or to someone speaking, often on purpose.
Grammar: The object usually comes between tune and out: tune it out. You can also say tune out something, but tune it out is more common.
Patterns
- tune something out
- tune out something
- tune it out
The music was so loud that I had to tune it out to concentrate.
When my brother starts complaining, I just tune him out.
She tuned out the noise and focused on her book.
Word forms
| third person singular | tunes it out |
|---|---|
| past tense | tuned it out |
| past participle | tuned it out |
| -ing form | tuning it out |
Common combinations
- tune out the noise
- It's hard to tune out the noise of the city.
- tune out someone
- Don't tune out your teacher during the lecture.
- just tune it out
- When he yells, just tune it out.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ignore
- A general word meaning to pay no attention; tune out is more specific to sounds or speech and is informal.
- block out
- Similar, but often suggests a stronger effort to stop something from affecting you.
Opposites
Practice
Fill in the blank: 'The TV was too loud, so I ______ and read my book.'
Choose one answer.
The correct phrasal verb is 'tune it out', with the object pronoun between tune and out. 'Tuned out it' is not grammatical, 'tuned it in' means the opposite, and 'tuned out of it' is not a standard expression.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tune it out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.