shuttle

American  

[shuht-l] / ˈʃʌt l /

noun

1. 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.

2. the sliding container that carries the lower thread in a sewing machine.

3. 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.

4. shuttlecock.

5. (often initial capital letter) space shuttle.

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verb (used with object)

shuttled, shuttling

1. to cause (someone or something) to move to and fro or back and forth by or as if by a shuttle.

   They shuttled me all over the seventh floor.

verb (used without object)

shuttled, shuttling

1. to move to and fro.

   constantly shuttling between city and suburb.

shuttle British  

/ ˈʃʌtəl /

noun

1. a bobbin-like device used in weaving for passing the weft thread between the warp threads

2. a small bobbin-like device used to hold the thread in a sewing machine or in tatting, knitting, etc

3. 1. a bus, train, aircraft, etc, that plies between two points, esp one that offers a frequent service over a short route

   2. short for space shuttle

4. 1. the movement between various countries of a diplomat in order to negotiate with rulers who refuse to meet each other

   2. ( as modifier )

      shuttle diplomacy

5. badminton short for shuttlecock

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verb

1. to move or cause to move by or as if by a shuttle

Other Word Forms

• shuttlelike adjective

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

Example Sentences

Julian Barnes, a Times reporter, in a sworn declaration, noted that reporters were unable to access the new press facility on foot and were also not allowed to use a Pentagon shuttle bus.

From Barron's

“That cannot be right,” Livingston Holder, a former manned spaceflight engineer with the Air Force and space shuttle payload specialist, recalled thinking when he first heard that fact.

From Los Angeles Times

From up in the space shuttle, in 1983, astronaut Sally Ride could see the pollution blotting out her Los Angeles hometown.

From Los Angeles Times

On his watch, the Dodgers helped secure government funding for the shuttle buses that provide free rides between Union Station and Dodger Stadium.

From Los Angeles Times

Stellantis tries to take the edge off for workers hoofing it from outer perimeter lots, shuttling them in from some locations.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• airplane
• plane
• shuttle bus
• spacecraft
• train