I. ˈtwēk verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: alteration of earlier twick, from Middle English twikken, from Old English twiccian to pluck, catch hold of — more at twitch
transitive verb
1. : to pinch and pull with a sudden jerk and twist : jerk , jog , snatch , twitch
elevated the gun barrel … and tweaked the lanyard — Arthur Mayse
tweaked his memory — Olive H. Prouty
figures long standard … are tweaked across a minuscule stage — H.M.Robinson
tweaked the bulbous end of his nose — Francis King
2. : to pull the nose of : pull by the nose
political techniques of tweaking babies and shaking hands — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
intransitive verb
: twitch
he sat … tweaking feebly and blinking his eyes — Richard Church
has been tweaking at my conscience ever since — K.I.Brown
II. noun
( -s )
1. : an act of tweaking : a sharp pinch or jerk : twist , twitch
a tweak of the nose
2. : agitation , distress
III. transitive verb
1. : to make small adjustments in ; especially : fine-tune 1 herein
2.
a. : annoy : bother
tweaking the establishment
b. : criticize 2
tweaked her for her lack of seriousness
c. : to poke fun at
a comedian tweaking the audience
intransitive verb
: to make small adjustments
• tweak noun