tweaking

American  

[twee-king] / ˈtwi kɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of pinching and pulling something with a jerk and twist.

   A slight tweaking of his lips and a furrowing of his brow expressed his disapproval.

2. the act of making minor adjustments to something.

   A mere tweaking of some bit of technology is not going to fix this massive problem.

3. the act of annoying, teasing, or making fun of someone.

   The movie seems like it might be an affectionate tweaking of the nerd generation.

4. Slang. the act of using methamphetamine, cocaine, or other stimulant drugs, or of behaving wildly or erratically under their influence (usually followed byout ).

   Why do people take stuff they’re "not sure of" and then complain about tweaking out—or worse, ending up in the hospital?

5. Slang. the act of behaving or causing someone to behave in a wildly excited or agitated manner (usually followed byout ); freaking out.

   What with his tweaking out over every little mistake, the boss hasn’t been anyone's hero of late.

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adjective

1. making minor adjustments to something.

   I’m so happy with the sound—a huge antidote for me coming from the ever tweaking, never satisfied audiophile world.

2. Slang. behaving in a wildly excited or agitated manner, especially as an effect of using methamphetamine, cocaine, or other stimulant drugs.

   He was pacing around and bursting in and out of emotional fits like a tweaking junkie.

3. Slang. (used as an intensifier).

   What kind of a tweaking idiot would do that?

adverb

1. Slang. (used as an intensifier).

   These fudge brownies are tweaking amazing.

Etymology

Origin of tweaking

First recorded in 1610–20; tweak + -ing ¹ for the noun senses; tweak + -ing ² for the adjective and adverb senses

Example Sentences

Since the defeat in Lisbon in January, Arbeloa has made some changes, including tweaking Real's formation.

From BBC

Competitive equity does work to produce closer playoff results, but lots of tweaking still needs to take place, including education.

From Los Angeles Times

Dos Santos, who speaks four languages, has already started putting his stamp on the team by tweaking LAFC’s playing style.

From Los Angeles Times

The company is tweaking its footprint in the country.

From The Wall Street Journal

As part of those plans, the company has been tweaking its manufacturing base to reduce dependence on Asian supply chains, allowing it to respond to changing trends quicker and limit overstocking.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• tease
• twist