shuttlecock

American  

[shuht-l-kok] / ˈʃʌt lˌkɒk /

noun

• shuttlecocks
  plural

1. Also called shuttle.  the object that is struck back and forth in badminton and battledore, consisting of a feathered cork head and a plastic crown.

2. the game of battledore.

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verb (used with object)

1. to send or bandy to and fro like a shuttlecock.

verb (used without object)

1. to move or be bandied to and fro.

adjective

1. of such a state or condition.

   a shuttlecock existence.

shuttlecock British  

/ ˈʃʌtəlˌkɒk /

noun

1. Often shortened to: shuttle.  a light cone consisting of a cork stub with feathered flights, struck to and fro in badminton and battledore

2. anything moved to and fro, as in an argument

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verb

1. to move or cause to move to and fro, like a shuttlecock

Usage

What is a shuttlecock? A shuttlecock is the object that’s volleyed back and forth over the net with rackets in the sports of badminton and battledore. It’s not a ball—it consists of a cork head and a feathered cone. It can also be called a shuttle, birdie, or bird. The feathered part of the shuttlecock may consist of actual feathers (usually from a goose) or synthetic materials. Traditional shuttlecocks weigh about 5 grams (. 18 ounces) and have 16 feathers attached to the top. The shuttlecock is best-known for its use in badminton, but it is also used in the lesser-known sport of battledore, which is sometimes called battledore and shuttlecock. The word shuttlecock is sometimes also used in a figurative way to refer to something moved back and forth, or as a verb meaning to move back and forth or send something to and fro—a reference to the way that a shuttlecock is volleyed back and forth. Example: The movements of the shuttlecock are much different than those of a ball and make badminton a dynamic game. 

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• shuttlecocks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of shuttlecock

First recorded in 1515–25; shuttle + cock ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shuttlecock shuttlecocks

Struck repeatedly and energetically at both ends of the room, the shuttlecock flies high.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

Last year, the BWF played down its concerns about the shuttlecock market, while explaining its strategy to explore alternatives.

From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2026

"We studied the flow by examining aerodynamic forces on the shuttlecock as well as its deformations at each flight speed," said author Sanjay Mittal.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2024

In rotating each new scene toward Nora on the turntable, Lloyd highlights the transfer of information from character to character as if it were a shuttlecock — or contraband.

From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2023

Adèle here ran before him with her shuttlecock.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

It is an easy sport to pick up, most leisure centres have courts and you can hire racquets and shuttlecocks.

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2024

Shuttlecocks, also known as birdies or birds, are traditionally made from duck feathers, but nylon shuttlecocks have become more widely used because of their superior durability.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2024

Sports are represented in the form of tiny windsurfers and badminton shuttlecocks, and he has acquired some oddities, like helicopters, pencil stubs, abacuses and matchbooks.

From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2016

The 1930s Nelson-Atkins Museum, for one, is known for its collection of Chinese paintings, as well as the 17-foot-tall shuttlecocks on its lawn.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2016

Badminton, bad′min-ton, n. a cooling summer drink compounded of claret, sugar, and soda-water: a predecessor of lawn-tennis, played with shuttlecocks.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various