tune in

verb

tuned in; tuning in; tunes in

transitive verb

: to listen to or view a broadcast of

tuned in the weather report

intransitive verb

1

: to listen to or view a broadcast

We tuned in to hear the election results.

2

: to understand and be aware of a situation

He was not tuned in to the needs of his staff.

Examples of tune in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

About 95 million Americans tuned in on June 17, 1994, to watch Simpson flee in his white Ford Bronco on a slow-speed chase across a Southern California freeway. — Kalia Richardson, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026

Robert Duvall starred as McCrae and Tommy Lee Jones took on the role of Call in the series that was a major event for the network, as some 26 million homes tuned in during its four-day run in February 1989. — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Sep. 2026

Tens of, if not hundreds of, millions of people tuned in to watch that auction. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026

Sixty years after television audiences first tuned in to see the voyages of the Starship Enterprise, an astronaut on board the International Space Station has paid tribute to Star Trek by flying the badge of the franchise’s latest fictional captain. — Robert Pearlman, ArsTechnica, 8 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

tune in

verb

1

: to listen to or view a broadcast

tune in next week for the conclusion

2

: to pay attention to what is happening or to one's surroundings