stick shift

noun

: a manually operated gearshift for a motor vehicle usually mounted on the floor

Examples of stick shift in a Sentence

Do you know how to drive a stick shift?
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Most new drivers today will never have to master a stick shift and clutch. — David Autor, The Atlantic, 24 Aug. 2025 In the middle sits something such as learning to drive a stick shift after years of driving an automatic. — Rajiv Gupta, Forbes.com, 8 May 2026 Something tells me that people who prefer a stick shift probably aren’t interested in having their truck manage its own speed through a rock garden, anyway. — Caleb Jacobs, The Drive, 21 Jan. 2026 Pulley says the car, with its smooth black interior and small, 5-speed stick shift, was initially used for marketing and then durability studies. — Eric D. Lawrence, Freep.com, 4 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for stick shift

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of stick shift was in 1959

Rhymes for stick shift

See All Rhymes for stick shift

Browse Nearby Words

stickseed
stick shift
stick-slip
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stick shift.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stick%20shift. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All