shaft

[ shaft, shahft ]

/ ʃæft, ʃɑft /

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See synonyms for: shaft / shafted / shafting on Thesaurus.com

noun

a long pole forming the body of various weapons, as lances, halberds, or arrows.

something directed or barbed as in sharp attack: shafts of sarcasm.

a ray or beam: a shaft of sunlight.

a long, comparatively straight handle serving as an important or balancing part of an implement or device, as of a hammer, ax, golf club, or other implement.

Machinery. a rotating or oscillating round, straight bar for transmitting motion and torque, usually supported on bearings and carrying gears, wheels, or the like, as a propeller shaft on a ship, or a drive shaft of an engine.

a flagpole.

Architecture.

that part of a column or pier between the base and capital.
any distinct, slender, vertical masonry feature engaged in a wall or pier and usually supporting or feigning to support an arch or vault.

a monument in the form of a column, obelisk, or the like.

either of the parallel bars of wood between which the animal drawing a vehicle is hitched.

any well-like passage or vertical enclosed space, as in a building: an elevator shaft.

Mining. a vertical or sloping passageway leading to the surface.

Botany. the trunk of a tree.

Zoology. the main stem or midrib of a feather.

Also called leaf. Textiles. the harness or warp with reference to the pattern of interlacing threads in weave constructions (usually used in combination): an eight-shaft satin.

the part of a candelabrum that supports the branches.

Slang: Vulgar. the penis.

Slang: harsh, unfair, or treacherous treatment: I feel like he’s giving me the shaft.

verb (used with object)

to push or propel with a pole: to shaft a boat through a tunnel.

Slang. to treat in a harsh, unfair, or treacherous manner.

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Origin of shaft

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English sceaft; cognate with German Schaft; compare Latin scāpus “shaft,” Greek skêptronscepter

OTHER WORDS FROM shaft

shaftless, adjectiveshaftlike, adjectivesubshaft, nounun·shaft·ed, adjective

Words nearby shaft

Shadwell, shady, SHAEF, Shaffer, Shafiʿi, shaft, shaft alley, Shaftesbury, shaft feather, shaft grave, shaft horsepower

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shaft in a sentence

Its most popular post was a story about a colony of humans living in elevator shafts.
A GPT-3 bot posted comments on Reddit for a week and no one noticed|Niall Firth|October 8, 2020|MIT Technology Review
They come in green or pink, and have a waterproof rubber exterior with a stretchy, nylon shaft.
Clothing and accessories that make great gifts|PopSci Commerce Team|October 6, 2020|Popular-Science
Select a dead, dry hardwood stave for your bow, and pick some shoots or sucker growth for the arrow shafts.
This essential survival tool can save your life 10 different ways|By Tim MacWelch/Outdoor Life|September 15, 2020|Popular-Science
The shafts surround the site of a Neolithic village called Durrington Walls.
Underground mega-monument found near Stonehenge|Avery Elizabeth Hurt|August 11, 2020|Science News For Students

Notches and wear at the bottom of the bone points indicate that they were attached to thin shafts.
Clues to the earliest known bow-and-arrow hunting outside Africa have been found|Bruce Bower|June 12, 2020|Science News
Wandering around Tribeca, you may stumble upon a decrepit elevator shaft that's full of curiosities.
New York’s Tiniest—and Weirdest—Museum|Nina Strochlic|May 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A man had killed himself by jumping out the window at the top, while a woman had done so by jumping down the elevator shaft.
Weird Washington Monument History|William O’Connor|May 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In one tragic incident in 1965, a man named Bob Restall passed out in the shaft and fell into the water.
Treasure Hunt to Discover Oak Island’s Mysterious Booty|Nina Strochlic|February 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Any celebration of these findings was quickly quashed as the shaft continued to flood and delay the work.
Treasure Hunt to Discover Oak Island’s Mysterious Booty|Nina Strochlic|February 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For decades, explorers struggled to cap an endless flood of water that prevented access to the shaft.
Treasure Hunt to Discover Oak Island’s Mysterious Booty|Nina Strochlic|February 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His arm was drawn around the drum, and finally his whole body was drawn over the shaft, at a fearful rate.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
"I did n't fly off the handle," said the screw, twirling huskily at the end of the screw-shaft.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
It was placed immediately over the shaft and pump-rods, requiring no engine-beam.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
The case was fixed over the engine-shaft on two beams of timber from wall to wall.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
The pole-case was fixed to strong beams immediately over the pump-shaft.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick

British Dictionary definitions for shaft

shaft

/ (ʃɑːft) /

noun

the long narrow pole that forms the body of a spear, arrow, etc

something directed at a person in the manner of a missileshafts of sarcasm

a ray, beam, or streak, esp of light

a rod or pole forming the handle of a hammer, axe, golf club, etc

a revolving rod that transmits motion or power: usually used of axial rotationCompare rod (def. 9)

one of the two wooden poles by which an animal is harnessed to a vehicle

anatomy

the middle part (diaphysis) of a long bone
the main portion of any elongated structure or part

the middle part of a column or pier, between the base and the capital

a column, obelisk, etc, esp one that forms a monument

architect a column that supports a vaulting rib, sometimes one of a set

a vertical passageway through a building, as for a lift

a vertical passageway into a mine

ornithol the central rib of a feather

an archaic or literary word for arrow

get the shaft US and Canadian slang to be tricked or cheated

verb

slang to have sexual intercourse with (a woman)

slang to trick or cheat

Word Origin for shaft

Old English sceaft; related to Old Norse skapt, German Schaft, Latin scāpus shaft, Greek skeptron sceptre, Lettish skeps javelin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

shaft

Origin of shaft

OTHER WORDS FROM shaft

Words nearby shaft

Words related to shaft

How to use shaft in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shaft

Word Origin for shaft