hand brake

noun

variants or handbrake

ˈhan(d)-ˌbrāk 

plural hand brakes or handbrakes

: an emergency brake operated by a hand lever

The handbrake can help to prevent accidents when the foot brake fails to stop the vehicle during an emergency.

—TechStartups.com

Examples of hand brake in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Those chairs are in bad shape, with sticky wheels and faulty hand brakes. — Sophie Neiman, NPR, 20 June 2026

In extremely dense fog, drivers are advised to turn on their hazard lights, pull over into a safe place, and if that’s on the side of the road or hard shoulder—turn off all lights except the hazards, engage the hand brake, and wait until the fog lifts. — Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025

Riders control their speed with hand brakes for a custom experience. — Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 15 Aug. 2025

The bikes have hand brakes, emergency brakes, baskets on the sides, cup holders and small slots for phones. — John Tuohy, IndyStar, 8 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hand brake

• awake
• backache
• beefsteak
• betake
• cheesecake
• cupcake
• daybreak
• earthquake
• forsake
• gouache
• handshake
• headache