1
: precisely adjusted for the highest level of performance, efficiency, or effectiveness
a fine-tuned machine
His voice on "Always Late with Your Kisses" rolled along its cordillera of syllables like a fine-tuned sports car. Bryan Di Salvatore
2
: improved or refined over time
His story is that of a man with an exquisitely fine-tuned creative imagination … Bruce McCall
It is one of the many recipes that are treasured family hand-downs or the fine-tuned ideas of Marilyn Lewis … Caroline Bates

Examples of fine-tuned in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Minerva uses Google’s own language model, Pathways Language Model (PaLM), which is fine-tuned on scientific papers from the arXiv online preprint server and other sources with formatted math. IEEE Spectrum, 15 Mar. 2023 The ride then soft opens to a limited group, like fellow park employees or annual passholders, and is fine-tuned before opening to the general public. Eve Chen, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fine-tuned was in 1926

Dictionary Entries Near fine-tuned

Cite this Entry

“Fine-tuned.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fine-tuned. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.

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