How to Use hand brake in a Sentence

hand brake

noun
  • Those chairs are in bad shape, with sticky wheels and faulty hand brakes.
    — Sophie Neiman, NPR, 20 June 2026
  • The other part of the problem was in the hand brakes themselves.
    — Dan Schwartz, ProPublica, 3 Apr. 2023
  • The other part of the problem was in the hand brakes themselves.
    — Dan Schwartz, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2023
  • The daughter shut the door and the father released the hand brake.
    — Madhuri Vijay, The Atlantic, 28 Sep. 2022
  • On arrival, pick out a bike after squeezing tires and hand brakes.
    — Chris Erskine, latimes.com, 10 Apr. 2018
  • The new hand brake, on the left handlebar, is much like the ones on bikes, and will stop both wheels if pulled.
    — Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 14 June 2019
  • The 33 cars with hand brakes left on were toward the head of the train, and 13 of those were empty.
    — Dan Schwartz, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2023
  • Riders control their speed with hand brakes for a custom experience.
    — Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Many ATVs only have a hand brake on the left handlebar for the front brakes, and a foot brake for the rear.
    — Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life, 14 Oct. 2020
  • The thumb-lever brake on the first generation scooter has been replaced with a type of hand brake more commonly found on bicycles.
    — Sean O'Kane, The Verge, 12 June 2019
  • Because of a previous brake failure, 33 cars had their hand brakes on as the train rolled downhill toward Hyndman.
    — Dan Schwartz, ProPublica, 3 Apr. 2023
  • The brakes are completely electronic, unlike some other scooters that also include manual hand brakes or disc brakes.
    — Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 17 Nov. 2018
  • While strollers usually feature a convenient foot brake to keep your baby from rolling away, many jogging strollers also have a hand brake that's easier to use while running.
    — Jamie Spain, Good Housekeeping, 26 July 2022
  • The episode ends with a flashback to the accident, caused when Jamie pulls the hand brake to stop Nick from his manic speeding down the dark Dorchester back roads.
    — Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 6 Feb. 2020
  • The cushioned handlebar can adjust between three different heights and features a hand brake right in the center, for whenever quick stops are necessary.
    — Jessica Booth, Parents, 10 July 2023
  • Bernaski's Eeyore, whose large mouth is operated by a device that looks similar to a bicycle hand brake, is cuddly to the extreme.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 10 Dec. 2022
  • Ford has announced that the 2024 Mustang will get an optional drift brake—basically a hydraulic hand brake for the rear wheels.
    — K.c. Colwell, Car and Driver, 2 Apr. 2023
  • The jury found the crew had failed to inspect air pressure and hand brakes which had been jammed by a previous collision at 12th and Russ Boulevard.
    — Merrie Monteagudo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 May 2023
  • At some point, the men tried applying the hand brakes to the rail cars, which destabilized the train and forced the conductors to make an emergency stop, Fox 8 reported.
    — Scott Berson, charlotteobserver, 12 July 2018
  • It is known as a bootleg turn or handbrake turn and competition drivers use it to their advantage, knowing precisely when to release the hand brake and accelerate.
    — Bob Weber, chicagotribune.com, 30 Oct. 2017
  • Endearing features include a manual hand brake, the refrigerator cool box in the big center console and the fold-down tailgate (with storage panels) and a soft-close feature.
    — Mark Maynard, sandiegouniontribune.com, 30 Mar. 2018
  • In extremely dense fog, drivers are advised to turn on their hazard lights, pull over into a safe place, and if that’s on the side of the road or hard shoulder—turn off all lights except the hazards, engage the hand brake, and wait until the fog lifts.
    — Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
  • The Pilot's other physical controls include an electric starter switch (a pull-start option is there for backup), a hand brake that's perfect for drift duty, and a shift lever with forward, neutral, and reverse gears.
    — Eric Stafford, Car and Driver, 26 May 2022
  • Without the locomotive’s power, the train’s separate air braking system gradually lost its force, compounding the insufficiency in engaged hand brakes and setting the train free.
    — Ian Austen, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2023
  • As these flood back, developer Double Fine lets the stylistic hand brake off with a psychedelic platforming sequence that culminates in a jubilant musical number.
    — Lewis Gordon, Wired, 16 Dec. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hand brake.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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