There is a split second when the gears are spinning but the clutch is not engaged. This means that the car is getting no power to the wheels. When it catches on the gears, one the gears have to slow a bit because they went from spinning with no resistance to spinning with the weight of the car as resistance. Two the car can suddenly start accelerating again because the wheels are receiving torque (power) again after a split second of not.
If there’s a lurch or jolt, this generally means that the gears are worn down or things are out of adjustment so the gear doesn’t engage smoothly. At this point, it’s only a matter of time before it begins “slipping.” Slipping can be warded off for a while with service, but once it does begin to slip you need a new transmission pronto because it can fail completely at any point thereafter. You’ll be able to tell it’s slipping if you accelerate but it feels like you’ve lost power when you should have felt it shift up.
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