I. man ‧ u ‧ al 1 AC /ˈmænjuəl/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: French ; Origin: manuel , from Latin manualis , from manus 'hand' ]
1 . manual work involves using your hands or your physical strength rather than your mind SYN blue-collar
manual job/labour/worker etc
low-paid manual jobs
People in manual occupations have a lower life expectancy.
2 . operated or done by hand or without the help of electricity, computers etc OPP automatic :
a manual typewriter
a five-speed manual gearbox
It would take too long to do a manual search of all the data.
3 . relating to how well you use your hands to make or do things:
No great manual dexterity (=skill in using your hands) is required to perform the technique.
—manually adverb
II. manual 2 AC BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . a book that gives instructions about how to do something, especially how to use a machine
instruction/training/reference etc manual
Consult the computer manual if you have a problem.
a user manual
2 . on manual if a machine is on manual, it can only be operated by hand and not ↑ automatically