# manual

Pronunciation: say "MAN-yoo-uhl" US /ˈmæn.j(u)əl/, UK /ˈmæn.j(ʊ)əl/

## Noun

1. A booklet of instructions explaining how to use a particular machine or product.
   - Simple: A small book that tells you how to use a machine or other product.
   - _The printer jammed again, and nobody could remember where the manual was._
   - _The manual that came with the drill shows how to change the bit safely._
3. A handbook, a reference book of instructions or basic information on a subject.
   - Simple: A book that tells you the main facts or steps for a subject.
   - _The staff manual sets out the company's policies on leave and overtime._
   - _She kept a well-worn manual of English grammar beside her keyboard._
6. A device that is worked by hand, or that a person operates directly rather than a machine.
   - Simple: A device that a person works by hand, instead of one that runs by machine.
   - _She uses a manual for short trips around the house and a power wheelchair for longer outings._
   - _He learned photography on a secondhand manual, setting the focus and exposure himself for every shot._
7. A gearbox, especially in a motor vehicle, in which the operator shifts the gears.
   - Simple: A gearbox, often in a car, that the driver shifts by hand.
   - _The sports model comes with a six-speed manual or an optional automatic._
   - _The base model is available only in manual, which put off some buyers._
8. A car or other vehicle fitted with a manual transmission rather than an automatic one.
   - Simple: A car or other vehicle in which the driver changes the gears by hand.
   - _Her first car was a manual, so she learned to work a clutch at sixteen._
   - _The dealer had only two manuals left on the lot, both of them silver._
9. Control or operation by hand rather than by an automatic system.
   - Simple: Control by a person, not by the machine on its own.
   - _The pilot turned off the autopilot and flew the final approach on manual._
   - _Set the camera to manual if you want to choose the focus and exposure yourself._
10. A typewriter operated by hand, as distinguished from an electronic one.
   - Simple: A typewriter that works by hand, not an electronic one.
   - _The novelist drafts everything on a battered manual and loves the clack of its keys._
   - _Collectors pay more for working manuals than for electronic models from the same maker._
11. A keyboard played with the hands on a harpsichord, organ, or similar musical instrument.
   - Simple: A keyboard you play with your hands on an organ or a similar instrument.
   - _The cathedral organ has four manuals and a full pedalboard._
   - _The harpsichordist played the melody on the upper manual and the bass line on the lower one._
12. A military drill in the handling of weapons or similar equipment.
   - Simple: Practice that soldiers do in handling their weapons and other gear.
   - _The sergeant drilled the recruits in the manual of arms until every rifle moved in time._
   - _The honor guard went through the manual without a single missed beat._

## Adjective

2. Of an activity, done or carried out with the hands.
   - Simple: Describes work or an action that is done using your hands.
   - _After college he spent two summers doing manual labor on a construction crew._
   - _With a quick manual sweep, she cleared the crumbs from the table._
4. Carried out by a person rather than by a machine.
   - Simple: Done by a person, not by a machine.
   - _The close result triggered a manual recount of every ballot in the county._
   - _Switching from manual data entry to scanning cut the clinic's errors in half._
5. Of a machine, tool, or other device, operated by means of the hands.
   - Simple: Describes a machine or tool that you work with your hands.
   - _The cabin has a manual water pump in the kitchen and no electricity._
   - _He prefers a manual grinder because he can control how fine the coffee gets._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A bicycle technique whereby the front wheel is held aloft by the rider, without the use of pedal force.
- (noun) A similar maneuver on a skateboard, lifting the front or back wheels while keeping the tail or nose of the board from touching the ground.
- (noun) Manual measurement of the blood pressure, done with a manual sphygmomanometer.
- (noun) An old office-book like the modern Roman Catholic ritual.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3, 12** — From Middle English manuel, from Old French manuel, from Late Latin manuāle ("handbook, manual").
**Meanings 2, 4–11** — From Middle English manuel, from Anglo-Norman manuel and Old French manual, from Latin manuālis, which comes from manus ("hand").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/manual (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).