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

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Etymology

Origin of shuttlecock

First recorded in 1515–25; shuttle + cock ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shuttlecock shuttlecocks

Young Anakin’s podracer, a striped cockpit strapped to twin shuttlecock engines, stretches down one side of an aisle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

"We are aware of the global supply chain challenges and subsequent increases in feathered shuttlecock prices impacting badminton communities around the world," BWF secretary general Thomas Lund said in a statement at the time.

From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2026

Through computational analyses based on two-way fluid-structure interactions, the team coupled equations governing air flow with equations determining skirt deformation of a shuttlecock in flight.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2024

Adèle here ran before him with her shuttlecock.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

From tables made out of shuttlecocks to plant-based menus, Paris 2024 have announced a number of initiatives that they claim will help them reach their targets.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 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

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

With its straight-man-in-drag conceit, and quips flying like shuttlecocks between Tracy and Rexy, the play sometimes assumes the artificial air of a sitcom.

From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2015

Peg-tops and hoops they account, I think, as a sort of hail; shuttlecocks, as rain, or dew. 

From The Uncommercial Traveller by Charles Dickens

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