US /ˈʃʌt.əl/ UK /ˈʃʌt.əl/
noun verb Freq #5999

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    a bus, train, aircraft, or other service that travels regularly between two points

    A free shuttle carries passengers between the terminal and the rental-car center.

  2. 2
    verb

    to travel or transport someone repeatedly back and forth between two places

    She had to shuttle between the two offices throughout the negotiation.

  3. 3
    noun

    a device that carries the weft thread back and forth through the warp on a loom

    The weaver passed the wooden shuttle swiftly across the loom.

  4. 4
    noun

    a shuttlecock used in badminton

    The final shuttle landed just inside the back line.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a bus, train, aircraft, or... shuttle servicetransfer
2 verb · to travel or transport... commuteferrytransfer
3 noun · a device that carries the... weaving shuttle
4 noun · a shuttlecock used in... shuttlecockbirdie
Word family
Forms shuttles
Derived forms shuttlecockshuttlecraftshuttlershuttleless
Related forms commuteloomweaving

Etymology

From Middle English shutel and Old English scytel, 'dart, missile, or bolt,' related to shoot. The loom tool was named for being shot across the warp; its repeated back-and-forth motion later inspired the transport and verb senses.

Topics

markdown

Send feedback

Optional — only if you'd like a reply.