Wiktionary
n. (context automotive English) Mechanical transmission which shifts gears by the action of the driver's hand on the gearstick or gear lever, rather than automatically; a manual gearbox.
Wikipedia
A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox, stick shift, n-speed manual (where n is its number of forward gear ratios), standard, MT, or in colloquial U.S. English, a stick (for vehicles with hand-lever shifters), is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications. It uses a driver-operated clutch engaged and disengaged by a foot pedal ( automobile) or hand lever ( motorcycle), for regulating torque transfer from the engine to the transmission; and a gear selector operated by hand (automobile) or by foot (motorcycle).
A conventional 5-speed manual transmission is often the standard equipment in a base-model car, while more expensive manual vehicles are usually equipped with a 6-speed transmission instead; other options include automatic transmissions such as a traditional automatic (hydraulic planetary) transmission (often a manumatic), a semi-automatic transmission, or a continuously variable transmission (CVT). The number of forward gear ratios is often expressed for automatic transmissions as well (e.g., 9-speed automatic).
Usage examples of "manual transmission".
The diesel and 5-speed manual transmission were more than adequate.
The VW had a manual transmission with a sharp clutch and he stalled out twice before he got the hang of driving it.
The Triumph would have a manual transmission, but there was no way in God's world that he could get his splinted leg into that small cabin.
The truck did some jerking at first - she wasn't as good with his manual transmission as she maybe thought she was - and she jerked with it.
She makes sounds like a bad driver grinding a manual transmission.
He noticed the knob on the manual transmission gearshift was twisted and worn from heavy use, the gear position symbol upside down.