notchy

British

/ ˈnɒtʃɪ /

adjective

(of a motor vehicle gear mechanism) requiring careful gear-changing, as if having to fit the lever into narrow notches

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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notchy

And it is proper: a leather-stitched, handball-sized shift knob, ever shivering with engine revs, the short throws between gears landing in oiled, notchy slots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026

One thing most testers noted was that they didn't care for its relatively notchy shifter.

From Time Magazine Archive

It's not notchy, it shifts with authority, and it's perfectly suited for the track or trail.

From Time Magazine Archive

Methought I heard some sawyer draw his file With jarring, stridulous cacophany Across his notchy blade, to set its teeth And mine on edge.

From Black Beetles in Amber by Bierce, Ambrose

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023