tweak

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /twiːk/ UK /twiːk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to adjust or fine-tune something slightly

She tweaked the recipe by adding a pinch more salt.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to adjust or fine-tune... adjustfine-tunemodify tune refine altercalibrate

Word family

Derived forms tweakertweaking

Related forms twitch

Etymology

Probably from Old English twiccian ('to pluck, gather'), related to twitch; the sense 'to make small adjustments' is a 20th-century development.

twiccian Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# tweak

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /twiːk/
**IPA (UK):** /twiːk/

## Meanings
1. to adjust or fine-tune something slightly

## Examples
- She tweaked the recipe by adding a pinch more salt.

## Synonyms
- adjust
- fine-tune
- modify
- tune
- refine
- alter
- calibrate

## Derived Forms
- tweaker
- tweaking

## Related Forms
- twitch

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: twiccian

## Etymology
Probably from Old English twiccian ('to pluck, gather'), related to twitch; the sense 'to make small adjustments' is a 20th-century development.

## AI Etymology
Tweak has this etymological development: Probably from Old English twiccian ('to pluck, gather'), related to twitch; the sense 'to make small adjustments' is a 20th-century development. Important recorded forms include twiccian (Old English). The wording preserves that uncertainty: the older history is best read as a cautious account rather than a fully settled chain. The semantic development is already visible in the history: an older concrete or specialized use was extended into the modern meaning rather than replaced by a separate origin. In current use it covers to adjust or fine-tune something slightly. The wider family includes derived forms such as tweaker and tweaking and related words such as twitch.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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