stick shift
Americannoun
noun
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a manually operated transmission system in a motor vehicle
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a motor vehicle having manual transmission
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a gear lever
Etymology
Origin of stick shift
First recorded in 1955–60
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.
What brought me here was my 16-year-old daughter’s declaration, a month or so after getting her learner’s permit, that she wanted to master a stick shift.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025
That beetle was banged up because when John first got his license, he didn’t realize that because it was a stick shift, he needed to put the handbrake on when parking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2024
Toyota has put a fake stick shift in an electric car.
From Slate ● Jun. 15, 2023
Bassett’s character gives him historical context and teaches him skills, like how to drive a stick shift.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2023
Billy was sitting in the driver’s seat, making engine noises in his throat and pretending to work a phantom stick shift.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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.
