tweak

1 of 2

verb

ˈtwēk 

tweaked; tweaking; tweaks

transitive verb

1

: to make usually small adjustments in or to

tweak the controls

especially : fine-tune

2

: to injure slightly

3

: to pinch (a person or a body part) lightly or playfully

4

: to pinch and pull with a sudden jerk and twist : twitch

tweaked a bud from the stem

5

a

: annoy, bother

tweaking the establishment

b

: to criticize especially in a sly or sharp manner

c

: to poke fun at

intransitive verb

1

: pull, pluck

2

: to make small adjustments

tweak

2 of 2

noun

plural tweaks

1

: a small change or adjustment

We made a few tweaks to the original recipe.

Jellyfish collects information about what's happening behind the scenes and rushes it to its corporate clients so they can make investments based on things like forthcoming regulations or tax code tweaks.

—Tim Murphy

They'd try making helpful tweaks to the way my chair faced the computer …

—Lucette Lagnado

2

: a sharp pinch or jerk

a tweak of the nose

Archie laughed, and Rose, seeing a merry blue eye winking at her from behind two brown hands, gave Charlie's ear a friendly tweak …

—Louisa May Alcott

3

: a slight injury causing pain

… it's worth remembering that Pryor is a more dangerous runner than passer, so even a slight tweak of the leg or ankle could be a significant blow to the offense at State College.

—Bob Hunter

Examples of tweak in a Sentence

Verb

We just wanted to tweak his original idea a bit.

He tweaked his ankle playing soccer.

My brother hates it when our grandmother tweaks his cheek.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Fauci’s memoir & Alnylam’s tenuous trial Can Alnylam find success with its latest cardiac treatment after tweaking the trial? —Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 21 June 2024

The Treasury Department recently tweaked that formula, taking into account the role farming practices, like planting cover crops and using no-till techniques, play in reducing carbon production. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 18 June 2024

Noun

As this pro puts it, this one small tweak is so worth the wait. —Kelsey Mulvey, Sunset Magazine, 20 June 2024

There have also been a few subtle tweaks to the hardware, according to the DBX707’s chief engineer Andy Tockley, most of which, ironically, have been done via software. —Angus MacKenzie, Robb Report, 19 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

probably alteration of Middle English twikken to pull sharply, from Old English twiccian to pluck — more at twitch entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1601, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 4

Noun

1616, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

tweak

verb

ˈtwēk 

1

: to pinch and pull with a sudden jerk and twist

2

: to make small adjustments in or to

tweak the controls

3

: to injure slightly

tweak noun