man·u·al
ˈman-yə-wəl 
-yəl,
-yü-əl
1
a
: of, relating to, or involving the hands
manual dexterity
b
: worked or done by hand and not by machine
a manual transmission
manual computation
manual indexing
2
: requiring or using physical skill and energy
manual labor
manual workers
1
: a book that is conveniently handled
2
: the prescribed movements in the handling of a weapon or other military item during a drill or ceremony
the manual of arms
3
a
: a keyboard for the hands
specifically
: one of the several keyboards of an organ or harpsichord that controls a separate division of the instrument
b
: a device or apparatus intended for manual operation
c
: an automobile with a manual transmission
Is your car a manual or an automatic?
called also standard
Synonyms
Examples of manual in a Sentence
Adjective
She spent the summer doing manual labor on her uncle's farm.
He has a collection of old-fashioned manual typewriters.
Noun
Here's the owner's manual of your new car.
The computer program comes with a user's manual.
We lost the instruction manual and couldn't put our bikes together.
Please refer to the training manual if you have any questions about your job.
Is your car a manual or an automatic?
Recent Examples on the Web
PCMAG, 16 Apr. 2024
Government representatives milled around the safe, warm outside of the chamber, muttering observations, until Case crawled out, hypothermic, shaking too hard to complete the manual dexterity test but ready for his rectal temperature measurement.
—Rachel Lance, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
In the letter obtained by The Mercury News, Sharkey and Mukerjee argued that Padilla changed his request at the last minute from a manual recount, which was expected to cost upwards of $400,000, to a much less expensive machine recount.
—Grace Hase, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
On the lower end, the best budget food choppers, like the manual Zyliss Zick Zick Classic Food Chopper, can cost under $25.
—Jack Byram, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Apr. 2024
After a dry start to the water year, which began Oct. 1, the fourth and final manual snow survey showed an above-average snowpack for the second season in a row, according to a news release from the California Department of Water Resources.
—Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 10 Apr. 2024
Existing programs rely on manual disassembly, which is inefficient and poses major safety risks to the people involved.
—Sviat Dulianinov, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
The news was good: the manual survey, conducted by driving blue metal tubes into the ground, had measured 64 inches of snow — 13% above average for the location and time of year — all but guaranteeing that the state would not see severe drought this summer.
—Ned Kleiner, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
While most Americans hit the road with an automatic vehicle, there are still a few options for manual car enthusiasts.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2024
Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2024
Documents preserve a 'window for future generations' One of Pirsig's books was a 182-page Honda shop manual on how to fix the motorcycle.
—USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
To assess compatibility, our testers used at least two types of breast pumps (including hands-free, wireless, or manual).
—Katrina Cossey, Parents, 10 Apr. 2024
The transition from paper manuals to seeing the operation in VR reduces the learning cycle drastically, and operators gain a lot of confidence.
—Manojdeep Jasrotia, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
The alert still permits use of the device, with an update on the risks requested for the 243-page instruction manual that accompanies the pump.
—Christina Jewett, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Since 2017, officials with NTSB have urged Tesla to limit Autopilot use to highways without cross traffic, the areas for which the company’s user manuals specify Autopilot is intended.
—Trisha Thadani, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2024
That’s good for 556 horsepower and 551 pound-feet of twist, all funneled to the rear wheels via a Tremec six-speed manual (or an automatic with paddle shifters).
—Sean Evans, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2024
The league conducts two to four general trainings on open records laws a year and also produces a manual on the topic, adding that the 2016 change to the law is a focus in its trainings.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024
Adjective
The lens performs a little better in its manual focus mode (1:4.3 reproduction) than its autofocus mode (1:5).
—PCMAG, 16 Apr. 2024
Government representatives milled around the safe, warm outside of the chamber, muttering observations, until Case crawled out, hypothermic, shaking too hard to complete the manual dexterity test but ready for his rectal temperature measurement.
—Rachel Lance, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
In the letter obtained by The Mercury News, Sharkey and Mukerjee argued that Padilla changed his request at the last minute from a manual recount, which was expected to cost upwards of $400,000, to a much less expensive machine recount.
—Grace Hase, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
On the lower end, the best budget food choppers, like the manual Zyliss Zick Zick Classic Food Chopper, can cost under $25.
—Jack Byram, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Apr. 2024
After a dry start to the water year, which began Oct. 1, the fourth and final manual snow survey showed an above-average snowpack for the second season in a row, according to a news release from the California Department of Water Resources.
—Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 10 Apr. 2024
Existing programs rely on manual disassembly, which is inefficient and poses major safety risks to the people involved.
—Sviat Dulianinov, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
The news was good: the manual survey, conducted by driving blue metal tubes into the ground, had measured 64 inches of snow — 13% above average for the location and time of year — all but guaranteeing that the state would not see severe drought this summer.
—Ned Kleiner, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
While most Americans hit the road with an automatic vehicle, there are still a few options for manual car enthusiasts.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2024
Noun
The rear-wheel-drive 550 and 565 both come with the option of a manual or PDK transmission.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2024
Documents preserve a 'window for future generations' One of Pirsig's books was a 182-page Honda shop manual on how to fix the motorcycle.
—USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
To assess compatibility, our testers used at least two types of breast pumps (including hands-free, wireless, or manual).
—Katrina Cossey, Parents, 10 Apr. 2024
The transition from paper manuals to seeing the operation in VR reduces the learning cycle drastically, and operators gain a lot of confidence.
—Manojdeep Jasrotia, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
The alert still permits use of the device, with an update on the risks requested for the 243-page instruction manual that accompanies the pump.
—Christina Jewett, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Since 2017, officials with NTSB have urged Tesla to limit Autopilot use to highways without cross traffic, the areas for which the company’s user manuals specify Autopilot is intended.
—Trisha Thadani, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2024
That’s good for 556 horsepower and 551 pound-feet of twist, all funneled to the rear wheels via a Tremec six-speed manual (or an automatic with paddle shifters).
—Sean Evans, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2024
The league conducts two to four general trainings on open records laws a year and also produces a manual on the topic, adding that the 2016 change to the law is a focus in its trainings.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'manual.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to manual
Dictionary Entries Near manual
Cite this Entry
“Manual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manual. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
manual
1 of 2 adjective
man·u·al
ˈman-yə(-wə)l
1
: of, relating to, or involving the hands
manual skill
2
: worked or operated by hand
a car with a manual transmission
3
: requiring or using physical skill and energy
manual labor
manually
adverb
-ē
manual
2 of 2 noun1
: a small book
especially
: handbook
2
: the set movements in the handling of a weapon during a military drill
the manual of arms
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English manuel "relating to the hands, manual," from early French manuel (same meaning), from Latin manualis (same meaning), from manus "hand" — related to manage, maneuver, manufacture see Word History at maneuver
Medical Definition
manual
adjective
man·u·al
ˈman-yə(-wə)l
1
a
: of, relating to, or involving the hands
manual dexterity
b
: done or performed by hand and not by machine
manual removal of nits and lice—Jerome Potts
Jerome Potts2
: using signs and the manual alphabet in teaching the deaf compare oral sense 2
Legal Definition
manual
adjective
man·u·al
ˈman-yə-wəl
: involving or as if involving use of the hands
specifically
: of, relating to, or being a gift of a corporeal movable object that is actually delivered
a manual donation
manually
adverb
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