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Glite Dictionary
to the tune of

to the tune of

26 6.1
An amount of money, often a large sum
  • idiom
  • Literature
translation icon : por un total de
  • AUAF has been heavily funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, to the tune of more than $80 million in committed funds.
  • to the tune of $1 million

My hedges got smoked really badly to the tune of a small house in Florida.

Examples

  • If you successfully do so, I will compensate you to the tune of 10% of the recovered sum.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The American taxpayers bailed them out to the tune of 90 billion or so they will never get back.

    Blog text (5)

  • Yes, and to ten others to the tune of 8 million dollars.

    Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)

  • The operating cost is public funding to the tune of around $2 million a year.

    Blog text (16)

  • The Germans biggest industry needs us to the tune of 16 billion plus every year.

    Brexit: The Movie (2016)

  • And then repeatedly over the following years, voting to fund the war to the tune of $1 trillion.

    Blog text (1)

  • Canada is America's most important trade partner to the tune of over $300 billion annually.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The 10-year-old True Love Waits movement has been funded to the tune of $120 million by the federal government.

    Academic text (2004)

  • In 2010, the EU bailed out its southern economies to the tune of 750 million euros (equivalent to about $1 trillion).

    Academic text (2011)

  • The government provided financial assistance to the company to the tune of $100 million.

Synonyms

to amount
vsto the tune of
251 3.4

To add up to a certain total or result

focuses on a specified monetary sum, often implying a large total
to amount to
vsto the tune of
229 3.1

Be the same as something, often a bad result

focuses on a specified monetary sum rather than result equivalence

How Much

to the tune of
  • Literature
26 6.1
total
443 1.0
to amount to
229 3.1
some
∞ 1.0
a little
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

to the tune of main

Morphology

to + the + tune + of

The expression uses 'tune' metaphorically to indicate an amount, so the meaning 'amounting to a specified sum' cannot be transparently derived from the literal meanings of 'tune' (a melody) and the function words. This idiomatic/metaphorical usage is not predictable for a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words, so it is opaque.

Etymology

To the tune of comes from the image of saying a number 'to a tune', like a singer or announcer who would give a sum as part of a melody. So today to the tune of means 'amounting to' a certain sum.