Illustration of tuning fork
tuning fork
noun
: a 2-pronged metal implement that gives a fixed tone when struck and is useful for tuning musical instruments and ascertaining standard pitch
Examples of tuning fork in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The researchers behind the new study, including Davis and undergraduate ecology students, conducted more than 350 tests on spiders across 20 roads using a tuning fork on the spider’s web to simulate prey behavior.
—
Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 25 Feb. 2024
The design centered on a tiny, dual-ended vibrating tuning fork carved out of quartz using standard silicon-wafer-processing techniques.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 Apr. 2022
Here, skilled masseuses use tuning forks to enhance massages and treatments with frequency vibrations to calm the mind and spirit.
—Livia Hengel, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2023
Throughout the massage, the therapist explains the purpose of each chakra and the botanicals in the corresponding oil, and applies a tuning fork to pressure points to release stagnant energy.
—Anna Haines, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2023
Prussian meteorologist Heinrich Wilhelm Dove is credited as the first person to note this phenomenon, detecting it in 1839 using tuning forks.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 7 Mar. 2023
Citing enough research to assuage skeptics, Your Brain on Art provides abundant ideas for engaging with the arts, ranging from the intuitive (memorizing dance choreography to stave off dementia) to the outlandish (sounding a tuning fork during a business meeting to reduce stress).
—Amy Brady, Scientific American, 14 Feb. 2023
This quartz tuning fork responds to inertial forces and forms the heart of the GyroChip.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 Apr. 2022
Bailey remembers spending most of filming in a tuning fork, a mechanism that locks an actor into a harness that then can spin and rotate to emulate swimming.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2023
Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 25 Feb. 2024
The design centered on a tiny, dual-ended vibrating tuning fork carved out of quartz using standard silicon-wafer-processing techniques.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 Apr. 2022
Here, skilled masseuses use tuning forks to enhance massages and treatments with frequency vibrations to calm the mind and spirit.
—Livia Hengel, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2023
Throughout the massage, the therapist explains the purpose of each chakra and the botanicals in the corresponding oil, and applies a tuning fork to pressure points to release stagnant energy.
—Anna Haines, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2023
Prussian meteorologist Heinrich Wilhelm Dove is credited as the first person to note this phenomenon, detecting it in 1839 using tuning forks.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 7 Mar. 2023
Citing enough research to assuage skeptics, Your Brain on Art provides abundant ideas for engaging with the arts, ranging from the intuitive (memorizing dance choreography to stave off dementia) to the outlandish (sounding a tuning fork during a business meeting to reduce stress).
—Amy Brady, Scientific American, 14 Feb. 2023
This quartz tuning fork responds to inertial forces and forms the heart of the GyroChip.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 Apr. 2022
Bailey remembers spending most of filming in a tuning fork, a mechanism that locks an actor into a harness that then can spin and rotate to emulate swimming.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tuning fork.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1799, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near tuning fork
Cite this Entry
“Tuning fork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tuning%20fork. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
tuning fork
noun
: a metal instrument that gives a fixed tone when struck and is useful in tuning musical instruments
Medical Definition
tuning fork
noun
tun·ing fork
ˈt(y)ün-iŋ- 
: a 2-pronged metal implement that gives a fixed tone when struck
More from Merriam-Webster on tuning fork
Nglish: Translation of tuning fork for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tuning fork
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