manual
Americanadjective
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done, operated, worked, etc., by the hand or hands rather than by an electrical or electronic device.
a manual gearshift.
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involving or using human effort, skill, power, energy, etc.; physical.
manual labor.
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of or relating to the hand or hands.
manual deformities.
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of the nature of a manual or handbook.
manual instructions.
noun
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manuals
plural
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a small book, especially one giving information or instructions.
a manual of mathematical tables.
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a nonelectric or nonelectronic typewriter; a typewriter whose keys and carriage may be powered solely by the typist's hands.
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Military. the prescribed drill in handling a rifle.
the manual of arms.
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Music. a keyboard, especially one of several belonging to a pipe organ.
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Automotive. manual transmission.
adjective
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of or relating to a hand or hands
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operated or done by hand
manual controls
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physical, as opposed to mental or mechanical
manual labour
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by human labour rather than automatic or computer-aided means
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of, relating to, or resembling a manual
noun
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a book, esp of instructions or information
a car manual
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music one of the keyboards played by hand on an organ
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military the prescribed drill with small arms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of manual
First recorded in 1375–1425; from Latin manuālis (adjective), manuāle (noun) “(something) that can be held in the hand” ( manu(s) “hand” + -ālis, -āle -al 1, -al 2 ); replacing late Middle English manuel, from Middle French, from Latin, as above
Explanation
Something manual is operated by human hands. Before Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, picking cotton was a manual job. Nowadays, farmers might need to read a manual to know how to operate a cotton gin. The word manual comes from Latin root words meaning "of the hand," and the adjective form of the word still maintains that meaning — "by hand or of the hands." The adjective definition is also extended a bit to mean something done by hand and not machine, and the implication is usually that it is physical work. As a noun, manual means "an instruction booklet or handbook."
Vocabulary lists containing manual
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Body Language: Man ("Hand")
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It is similar to squeezing a miles-long instruction manual into the head of a pin.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
Last week, the National Academy of Sciences, a Congressionally-chartered yet independent body, removed from its website a chapter on climate science from a manual for judges.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
But the relationship between the manual and the courtroom is rarely so straightforward, experts argue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Service industry - or "white collar" jobs - take a larger share of the economy and there has been a decline in traditional manufacturing and other "blue collar" work such as manual labour.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
He’s so rigid and rehearsed, he sounds like a talking manual.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
She stayed up late studying how missiles work, digging up old Soviet-era manuals and consulting a nonagenarian rocket scientist whom she hired as an adviser.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
US prosecutors charged that Boeing misled FAA regulators about MCAS, resulting in no reference to the system in manuals and pilot training materials.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
In his research Mr. Moore read scads of 18th- and 19th-century farmers’ guides and homemaking manuals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
We found an image, posted on Telegram by Rybar, showing Lyukshin in a group of "future diplomats" who had "trained using Rybar's manuals".
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Using flashlights in the dark, windowless room, they combed through operating manuals.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
