tweak

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/twiːk/
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A small adjustment or act of adjusting, with older physical senses of pinching, twisting, or straining something and informal senses for sharp teasing or agitated stimulant behavior.
Practice using tweak in conversation until it feels natural

Examples

  • He tweaked his back while lifting the box.
  • A headline tweaked the team after another late collapse.
  • The rumor had everyone tweaking in the group chat.
  • He tweaks his friends about their terrible puns.
  • The update includes several useful tweaks to the menu.

Similar words

retouch
twist
mock
change
pinch
edit
wrench
refinement
criticize
panic

Meanings

Make a small adjustment

verb
technology
neutral
To change something slightly so it works, fits, looks, or reads better.

Examples

  • Could you tweak the color before we send the poster?
  • The engineer tweaked the settings until the signal cleared.
  • A designer can tweak the spacing without changing the layout.
  • The chef tweaks the sauce with a little lemon juice.
  • We only need to tweak the last paragraph.

Similar words

adjust
fine-tune
modify
refine
calibrate
retouch

Small adjustment

noun
technology
neutral
A slight change made to improve or correct something without altering its basic form.

Examples

  • One final tweak made the image sharper.
  • The update includes several useful tweaks to the menu.
  • A small tweak to the recipe cut the sweetness.
  • The coach suggested a tweak in her running form.
  • Those tweaks saved the team hours of manual work.

Similar words

adjustment
change
modification
edit
refinement
retouch

Pinch, twist, or slightly injure

verb
physical
neutral
To pinch or pull something with a quick twist, or to strain a body part slightly in a similar sudden movement.

Examples

  • She tweaked his ear for teasing his sister.
  • He tweaked his back while lifting the box.
  • The child tweaked the puppy puppet by the nose.
  • I tweaked my ankle on the uneven path.
  • The barber tweaked a stray hair into place.

Similar words

pinch
twist
tug
pull
strain
wrench

Sharp pull or slight strain

noun
physical
neutral
A quick pinching or twisting pull, or the small stab of pain from a minor strain.

Examples

  • A tweak of the nose made the baby laugh.
  • He felt a tweak in his hamstring during the warm-up.
  • The wire came loose after a quick tweak.
  • A painful tweak in her neck ended the workout early.
  • The handle needs only a gentle tweak to open.

Similar words

pinch
twist
tug
pull
strain
twinge

Tease or criticize sharply

verb
social
informal
To annoy, mock, or criticize someone with a quick pointed remark or gesture.

Examples

  • The cartoon tweaked the mayor for his broken promise.
  • Her speech tweaked the company for its slow response.
  • The host likes to tweak celebrities without sounding cruel.
  • A headline tweaked the team after another late collapse.
  • He tweaks his friends about their terrible puns.

Similar words

tease
needle
mock
rib
taunt
criticize

Act erratically or be high on stimulants

verb
slang
slang
To behave in an agitated, paranoid, or overexcited way, especially from methamphetamine or another stimulant, and in newer slang from stress or overreaction.

Examples

  • He was tweaking after days without sleep.
  • The rumor had everyone tweaking in the group chat.
  • She told him to stop tweaking over one typo.
  • People may tweak out during a stimulant binge.
  • The fans were tweaking when the stream went down.

Similar words

freak out
spiral
overreact
panic
trip
tweak out

Etymology

Recorded from about 1600 for pinching or twisting with a sudden jerk, probably from Middle English twikken and Old English twiccian, meaning to pluck. The adjustment sense is modern, attested in the 1960s, and the noun for a fine adjustment developed later.

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