shuttle
Americannoun
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a device in a loom for passing or shooting the weft thread through the shed from one side of the web to the other, usually consisting of a boat-shaped piece of wood containing a bobbin on which the weft thread is wound.
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the sliding container that carries the lower thread in a sewing machine.
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a public conveyance, as a train, airplane, or bus, that travels back and forth at regular intervals over a particular route, especially a short route or one connecting two transportation systems.
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(often initial capital letter) space shuttle.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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a bobbin-like device used in weaving for passing the weft thread between the warp threads
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a small bobbin-like device used to hold the thread in a sewing machine or in tatting, knitting, etc
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a bus, train, aircraft, etc, that plies between two points, esp one that offers a frequent service over a short route
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short for space shuttle
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the movement between various countries of a diplomat in order to negotiate with rulers who refuse to meet each other
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( as modifier )
shuttle diplomacy
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badminton short for shuttlecock
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shuttlesimple
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shuttlessimple
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have shuttledperfect
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has shuttledperfect
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am shuttlingprogressive
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are shuttlingprogressive
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is shuttlingprogressive
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have been shuttlingperfect progressive
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has been shuttlingperfect progressive
Past
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shuttledsimple
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had shuttledperfect
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was shuttlingprogressive
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were shuttlingprogressive
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had been shuttlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shuttle
before 900; Middle English shotil (noun), Old English scytel dart, arrow; cognate with Old Norse skutill harpoon; akin to shut, shoot 1
Explanation
A shuttle runs between two or more places regularly. The benefit to staying at a hotel close to the airport is that you can take a shuttle, or a regular bus that travels back and forth, to catch your plane in the morning. Airport shuttles are often buses, although they can also be trains, vans, or any other form of transportation. Some airplanes are shuttles, flying passengers on quick trips. You can also use the word shuttle as a verb, to describe what the bus itself does as it moves back and forth. The original meaning of shuttle is the part of a hand loom that moves to and fro in weaving.
Vocabulary lists containing shuttle
The Industrial Revolution - Introductory
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Prisoner B-3087
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The Industrial Revolution - Middle School and High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The RAC acknowledged UK airports generally offered other options for dropping people off at locations further from the terminal, sometimes with free shuttle buses.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Creating a proton shuttle could enhance the process, while removing the shuttle could reduce or prevent it.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Look for cheaper or free alternatives, for example car parks slightly further away which have shuttle buses to the terminal.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Now, the event has 15 participating stores and a shuttle service to take participants to each location.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
I zip my bagful of vials and sample containers closed and walk toward the shuttle.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Captain Tracy Batteese shuttles people and goods to and from Isle au Haut on the mail boat, which also functions as the island’s de facto ambulance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Graham shuttles off this mortal coil with no such vindication.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
Moxi – which shuttles medical supplies around hospitals – might respond by displaying its heart-shaped LED eyes and a beep beep greeting of its own.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
LA Metro is adding about 300 buses to its regular fleet to handle the additional demand, with shuttles servicing nine direct routes to SoFi and various fan zones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
People lined the streets to see the remaining shuttles go to their final homes.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
For six weeks, she was shuttled with other women between detention sites, including al-Mina al-Bary, a bus depot near the market where the UN said hundreds were held in about 70 shipping containers.
From Barron's ● Mar. 22, 2026
As a child, she was shuttled from school to dance recitals by her mother, while her motorsport-loving father took her brother to the local race circuit.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
A few Ole Miss assistants he hired away shuttled between the two schools to recruit at one and prepare the other for playoff games.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
A phalanx of demonstrators circled her and shuttled her away.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2026
Screamer shuttled between Bovina and Perry’s hack board for almost a week.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Elon Musk’s Tesla robotaxis and Amazon-owned Zoox are shuttling customers autonomously, but are nowhere near the scale at which Waymo operates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
The talks themselves are expected to be indirect: the two delegations sitting in separate rooms with Pakistani officials shuttling proposals between them, mirroring the format used in earlier Oman-mediated rounds.
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
The Pakistani intermediaries who will be shuttling between the two delegations have a tough job on their hands.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
Scott hopes this shuttling around of his stem cells, a procedure that costs patients $10,000, will rejuvenate his 82-year-old body and ward off the effects of aging.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
Wesley’s Methodism spread like wildfire through England and America because Wesley was shuttling back and forth among hundreds and hundreds of groups, and each group was then taking his message and making it even stickier.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
