tune out
/ˌtun ˈaʊt/
Reviewed on
Type
Phrasal verb
Meaning
To stop paying attention to someone or something, often because one is bored, distracted, or overwhelmed.
He tended to tune out whenever the meetings dragged on too long.
Why do you always tune me out when I talk about finances?
To deliberately ignore or block out unwanted sounds, criticism, or distractions.
She put on her headphones to tune out the chatter in the office.
Can players easily tune out hostile fans during an intense game?
How it's used
When this means “stop listening to someone or ignore a sound”
Both orders mean the same thing.
- tune out the noise
- tune the noise out
it and them go in the middle: “tune it out.” Not “tune out it.”
She learned to tune out the background noise while studying.
When this means “stop paying attention entirely”
- tune out
Students often tune out during dry lectures.
Collocations
- tune out distractions
- tune out criticism
- tend to tune out