tweaker

noun

tweak·​er ˈtwē-kər 

plural tweakers

1

: one who makes minor adjustments to something (such as electronic equipment) to improve its performance or effectiveness : a person who tweaks something

This set-it-and-forget-it approach may seem inconceivable to tweakers, but this isn't a piece of gear you want to be playing around with on a daily basis.

—Ron Goldberg, Home Theater, May 1997

2

slang : a person who illicitly uses methamphetamine and especially crystal meth

When he got like this, his neighbors would scream at him and threaten to call the cops, but they were tweakers too.

—Joseph Wambaugh, Finnegan's Week, 1994

The community, it turned out, was rife with methamphetamine users—"tweakers"—who would load up on the homemade speed and stay up for three days grinding their teeth and taking apart carburetors for fun.

—Dan McGraw, U.S. News & World Report, 2 Mar. 1998

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Love words?

You must — there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that’s only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.

Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with:

• More than 250,000 words that aren't in our free dictionary
• Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes
• Advanced search features
• Ad free!