tune out

verb

"tune-out" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tune out” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To stop paying attention to; to ignore; to zone out.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tune-out · tune out · English

tune out · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for tune out
PropertyValue
Headwordtune out
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “tune out” in English

tune outfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tune out is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for tune out, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From tune + out. The correct English form is tune out, spelled T-U-N-E- -O-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To stop paying attention to; to ignore; to zone out.
  2. 2
    To change the channel or frequency away from.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how tune out appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I have a hard time tuning out a television that is on.
  2. Ants are everywhere, in such abundance that we tune them out like we tune out traffic noise.

Etymology

From tune + out.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tune out"?
"tune out" is spelled T-U-N-E- -O-U-T.
What does "tune out" mean?
As a verb, "tune out" means: To stop paying attention to; to ignore; to zone out.
What is the origin of the word "tune out"?
From tune + out. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list