propeller shaft

American  

noun

1. a shaft that transmits power from an engine to a propeller.

2. a drive shaft.

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propeller shaft British  

noun

1. the shaft that transmits power from the gearbox to the differential gear in a motor vehicle or from the engine to the propeller in a ship or aircraft

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Etymology

Origin of propeller shaft

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

In 1980, the Warrior was seized by the Spanish navy, who removed a thrust bearing from the propeller shaft and held the ship for $142,000 bail.

From Slate • Jul. 22, 2025

The area near the propeller shaft was badly punched in, he said.

From Washington Post • Mar. 20, 2023

This powers an electric motor supplied by MagniX of Everett that turns the propeller shaft.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 2, 2023

On Feb. 12, 1942, British bombs struck the propeller shaft and boiler room of the John Mahn, a 157-foot trawler adapted for war by Germany.

From New York Times • Oct. 22, 2022

The object is undoubtedly a fragment of the propeller shaft of a large vessel, which satisfies me that at Swanage, where our last bomb was dropped, a portion of the High Seas Fleet was anchored.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. CL, April 26, 1916 by Various