manual

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Music Technical

n. one of the keyboards on a large musical instrument like an organ, played with the hands.

n. a keyboard, especially one of several, played with the hands on an organ or harpsichord.

“The organist moved his hands quickly between the upper and lower manuals.”

“The cathedral's pipe organ features four separate manuals, allowing the performer to access a vast array of tonal colours simultaneously.”

B1 · Intermediate

adj. done by a person using their hands rather than by a machine or computer.

adj. relating to or involving the use of the hands; specifically, work requiring physical effort rather than automation.

“The factory workers still do a lot of manual work to assemble the furniture.”

“Despite the rise of automation, certain delicate stages of the watchmaking process still require manual precision that machines cannot replicate.”

B1 · Intermediate

adj. describing a machine or vehicle that you must control yourself.

adj. operated by human effort or intervention rather than being automatic or electronic.

“He prefers driving a manual car because he likes having more control.”

“The pilot switched to manual control after the autopilot system began to behave erratically during the descent.”