tweak
UK: twiːk | US: twik
vt. to adjust or modify slightly for improvement
vt. to pinch and twist sharply (e.g., skin)
n. a minor adjustment or fine-tuning
The word "tweak" originated in the early 17th century, likely imitative of the sound or action of a sudden twist or pinch (onomatopoeic influence). It initially described a physical act of twisting (e.g., tweaking someone’s ear) and later evolved metaphorically to mean fine-tuning or adjusting something subtly. Its compact structure and Germanic roots (possibly related to Middle English "twikken") make it non-splittable under morpheme rules.
She tweaked the recipe by adding a pinch of cinnamon.
The engineer tweaked the software to fix the bug.
He playfully tweaked his brother’s nose.
A small tweak to the design improved its efficiency.
The editor suggested a few tweaks to the manuscript.