tweak
verb
\ ˈtwēk
\
\
Definition of tweak
(Entry 1 of 2)
tweak
noun
plural tweaks
Definition of tweak (Entry 2 of 2)
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
These are drawn from Scary Stories—though some have been tweaked, or seem to be a mashup of more than one entry. — Julie Beck, The Atlantic, "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark," 23 Aug. 2019 One day later, starting tailback Keaontay Ingram tweaked his knee during a team scrimmage. — Nick Moyle, ExpressNews.com, "Texas’ Jordan Whittington last RB standing as injuries mount," 23 Aug. 2019 Goodheart does tolerate Three Stooges-style ear-tweaking violence, and even a fist to the testicles. — Christopher Arnott, courant.com, "Review: Elm Shakespeare’s ‘Comedy of Errors’ a joyous, joke-based stroll in the park," 19 Aug. 2019 At weather-prediction centers around the world, Bjerknes’s equations have been tweaked and Richardson’s methods refined (the chess squares can now be as small as a couple of kilometres across), but the fundamental ideas are essentially the same. — Hannah Fry, The New Yorker, "Why Weather Forecasting Keeps Getting Better," 24 June 2019 The eight-speed automatic has been tweaked and now has a launch-control function, and the M division tuned the suspension. — Daniel Golson, Car and Driver, "The 2020 BMW X5 and X7 Get New M50i Performance Variants," 22 May 2019 Clementine, whose code has been tweaked by Charlotte Hale to mirror Maeve’s ability to control other hosts, has spread a contagion of violence through all of them. — refinery29.com, "Westworld Season 2 Finale Recap: A Whole Lotta Ben Barnes," 25 June 2018 Hastings and Stove are still being eased back into things after recovering from ACL surgeries last year; Stove also tweaked his knee early in camp, though that was just a minor setback for the redshirt junior receiver. — Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, "Kodi Burns not concerned by injuries to Auburn’s top-4 receivers," 18 Aug. 2019 Verizon recently tweaked its unlimited plans and dropped prices by $5. — Doreen Christensen, sun-sentinel.com, "$1 filet mignon sandwiches at Morton’s; free NFL Sunday Ticket | Doreen’s Deals," 9 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tweak.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for tweak
tweak
verb
English Language Learners Definition of tweak
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to change (something) slightly in order to improve it : to make small adjustments to (something)
: to injure (a part of your body) slightly
: to pinch and pull (something) with a sudden movement
tweak
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of tweak (Entry 2 of 2)
: a small change made in order to improve something
: a sudden pull or twist that causes a slight injury
: an act of pinching or pulling something
See the full definition for tweak in the English Language Learners Dictionary
tweak
verb
\ ˈtwēk
\
\
tweaked;
tweaking
Kids Definition of tweak
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to pinch and pull with a sudden jerk and twist
Grandpa tweaked my nose.
tweak
nounKids Definition of tweak (Entry 2 of 2)
: an act of pinching and pulling with a sudden jerk and twist
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