shafting

[ shaf-ting, shahf- ]

/ ˈʃæf tɪŋ, ˈʃɑf- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR shafting ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a number of shafts.

Machinery. a system of shafts, as the overhead shafts formerly used for driving the machinery of a mill.

steel bar stock used for shafts.

Architecture. a system of shafts, as those around a pier or in the reveals of an archway.

Slang. an instance of unique or unfair treatment: The owners gave him a real shafting on the deal.

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bailiwick

a creature, variously described as a serpent, lizard, or dragon, said to kill by its breath or look.

place or source of origin.

a person's area of skill, knowledge, authority, or work.

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Origin of shafting

First recorded in 1815–25; shaft + -ing¹

Words nearby shafting

shaft feather, shaft grave, shaft horsepower, shaft house, shaftesbury, shafting, shag, shaganappi, shagbark, shaggable, shagged

Definition for shafting (2 of 2)

shaft

[ shaft, shahft ]

/ ʃæft, ʃɑft /

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.

verb (used with object)

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

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

Origin of shaft

before 1000; Middle English; Old English sceaft; cognate with German Schaft; compare Latin scāpus shaft, Greek skêptron scepter

OTHER WORDS FROM shaft

shaft·less, adjectiveshaft·like, adjectivesub·shaft, nounun·shaft·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for shafting

The government has been shafting veterans since the Civil War and the modern VA does well at upholding that tradition.
The Military Teaches Soldiers Strength; the VA Teaches Veterans to Beg|Chris Miller|August 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I twisted the shafting one way and the tube the other as far as I could, and pinned them together.
Edison, His Life and Inventions|Frank Lewis Dyer and Thomas Commerford Martin
Twenty or more shearers will be lined up in one of these sheds, each man operating a clipping machine connected with the shafting.
Textiles|William H. Dooley
Long sheds are erected and shafting extends down both sides of the shearing place.
Textiles|William H. Dooley

This makes the belt bite, or grip well, and brings the machine up to its maximum speed with the shafting.
Life in a Railway Factory|Alfred Williams
These reels may be arranged so as to be operated from shafting by mechanical power, or by the hand of the attendants.
The Story of the Cotton Plant|Frederick Wilkinson

British Dictionary definitions for shafting (1 of 2)

shafting

/ (ˈʃɑːftɪŋ) /

noun

an assembly of rotating shafts for transmitting power

the stock from which shafts are made

architect a set of shafts

British Dictionary definitions for shafting (2 of 2)

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

Medical definitions for shafting

shaft

[ shăft ]

n.

An elongated rodlike structure, such as the midsection of a long bone.

The section of a hair projecting from the surface of the body.

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shafting

noun

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Origin of shafting

Words nearby shafting

Definition for shafting (2 of 2)

noun

verb (used with object)

Origin of shaft

OTHER WORDS FROM shaft

Example sentences from the Web for shafting

British Dictionary definitions for shafting (1 of 2)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for shafting (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Word Origin for shaft

Medical definitions for shafting

n.

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

shafting

noun

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Origin of shafting

Words nearby shafting

Definition for shafting (2 of 2)

noun

verb (used with object)

Origin of shaft

OTHER WORDS FROM shaft

Words related to shafting

Example sentences from the Web for shafting

British Dictionary definitions for shafting (1 of 2)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for shafting (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Word Origin for shaft

Medical definitions for shafting

n.