tweaking

[twee-king]

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.

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tweaking¹

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

Example Sentences

Ayton left the game with 7:25 remaining after tweaking his right knee while contesting a shot from Pelicans rookie Derik Queen.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Procter & Gamble recently reported “very strong progress” in China after tweaking its strategy to focus on innovative products designed for local consumers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

While tweaking the script for “The Bourne Ultimatum,” he killed off Bourne, according to Lee’s biography.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But after months of tweaking the chemistry, it took just four days for the first hull to roll off the printer at the new factory that Mr Logtenberg and his colleagues run.

Read more on BBC

"We don't need to change it all and risk tweaking the laws too much," adds Monye.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• tease 
• twist