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Synonyms

manual transmission

American  

noun

  1. an automotive transmission in which the driver shifts gears manually.

Etymology

Origin of manual transmission

First recorded in 1965–70

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.

Simple actuators without this capability are a bit like manual transmission cars that need to be shifted into reverse.

From BBC • Feb. 5, 2026

A motorcycle’s manual transmission plays a comparable role in handling.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

The Volkswagen Golf R comes with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine mated to either a six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed automatic.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 1, 2023

But the suspects drove only a few feet before they bailed out of the car because they couldn’t drive the manual transmission.

From Washington Times • Oct. 8, 2023

In that big field, the old man, whose name we learned after we agreed to buy the car was Ralph Mason, gave my dad a quick lesson in the vagaries of manual transmission.

From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez

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.