Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

2 VERB If you tweak something such as a system or a design, you improve it by making a slight change. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n] He expects the system to get even better as the engineers tweak its performance. ● N‑COUNT Tweak is also a noun. □  The camera has undergone only two minor tweaks since its introduction.

twee /twiː / ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you say that something is twee , it is pretty or sentimental in a way that you think is excessive or silly. [BRIT , DISAPPROVAL ]

tweed /twiː d/ (tweeds )

1 N‑VAR Tweed is a thick woollen cloth, often woven from different coloured threads.

2 N‑PLURAL Someone who is wearing tweeds is wearing a tweed suit. □  …an academic, dressed in tweeds and smoking a pipe.

tweedy /twiː di/

1 ADJ If you describe someone as tweedy , you mean that they have an upper-class but plain appearance, and look as if they live in the country, for example because they are wearing tweed. □  An older woman, pink-cheeked and tweedy, appeared in the doorway.

2 ADJ Tweedy clothes are made from tweed.

tweet /twiː t/ (tweets , tweeting , tweeted )

1 N‑COUNT A tweet is a short, high-pitched sound made by a small bird.

2 N‑COUNT A tweet is a short message from someone on the Twitter website. □  She regretted posting that tweet. □  At the end of the show he responded to listener calls, emails and tweets.

3 VERB If you tweet or tweet something, you send a short message on the Twitter website. □  Thousands of people tweeted their disapproval. [also V ]

twee|zers /twiː zə ^r z/ N‑PLURAL [oft a pair of N ] Tweezers are a small tool that you use for tasks such as picking up small objects or pulling out hairs. Tweezers consist of two strips of metal or plastic joined together at one end.

twelfth ◆◆◇ /twe lfθ/ (twelfths )

1 ORD The twelfth item in a series is the one that you count as number twelve. □  …the twelfth anniversary of the April revolution. □  …a twelfth-century church.

2 FRACTION A twelfth is one of twelve equal parts of something. □  She is entitled to a twelfth of the cash.

twelve ◆◆◆ /twe lv/ (twelves ) NUM Twelve is the number 12. □  Twelve days later Duffy lost his job.

twen|ti|eth ◆◆◇ /twe ntiəθ/ (twentieths )

1 ORD The twentieth item in a series is the one that you count as number twenty. □  …the twentieth century.

2 FRACTION A twentieth is one of twenty equal parts of something. □  A few twentieths of a gram can be critical.

twen|ty ◆◆◆ /twe nti/ (twenties )

1 NUM Twenty is the number 20. □  He spent twenty years in India.

2 N‑PLURAL When you talk about the twenties , you are referring to numbers between 20 and 29. For example, if you are in your twenties , you are aged between 20 and 29. If the temperature is in the twenties , the temperature is between 20 and 29 degrees. □  They're both in their twenties and both married with children of their own.

3 N‑PLURAL The twenties is the decade between 1920 and 1929. □  It was written in the Twenties, but it still really stands out.

24-7 /twe ntifɔː ^r se v ^ə n/ also twenty-four seven ADV [ADV after v] If something happens 24-7 , it happens all the time without ever stopping. 24-7 means twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. [mainly AM , INFORMAL ] □  I feel like sleeping 24-7. ● ADJ [ADJ n] 24-7 is also an adjective. □  …a 24-7 radio station.

twerp /twɜː ^r p/ (twerps ) N‑COUNT If you call someone a twerp , you are insulting them and saying that they are silly or stupid. [INFORMAL , OFFENSIVE , DISAPPROVAL ]

twice ◆◆◆ /twa I s/

1 ADV [ADV with v, ADV adv, ADV n] If something happens twice , there are two actions or events of the same kind. □  He visited me twice that fall. □  Brush teeth and gums twice daily.