shuttle

American  

[shuht-l] / ˈʃʌt l /

noun

1. a device in a loom for passing or shooting the weft thread through the shed from one side of the web to the other, usually consisting of a boat-shaped piece of wood containing a bobbin on which the weft thread is wound.

2. the sliding container that carries the lower thread in a sewing machine.

3. a public conveyance, as a train, airplane, or bus, that travels back and forth at regular intervals over a particular route, especially a short route or one connecting two transportation systems.

4. shuttlecock.

5. (often initial capital letter) space shuttle.

---

verb (used with object)

• shuttles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shuttled,
  past participle,  past
• shuttling
  present participle

1. to cause (someone or something) to move to and fro or back and forth by or as if by a shuttle.

   They shuttled me all over the seventh floor.

verb (used without object)

• shuttles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shuttled,
  past participle,  past
• shuttling
  present participle

1. to move to and fro.

   constantly shuttling between city and suburb.

shuttle British  

/ ˈʃʌtəl /

noun

1. a bobbin-like device used in weaving for passing the weft thread between the warp threads

2. a small bobbin-like device used to hold the thread in a sewing machine or in tatting, knitting, etc

3. 1. a bus, train, aircraft, etc, that plies between two points, esp one that offers a frequent service over a short route

   2. short for space shuttle

4. 1. the movement between various countries of a diplomat in order to negotiate with rulers who refuse to meet each other

   2. ( as modifier )

      shuttle diplomacy

5. badminton short for shuttlecock

---

verb

1. to move or cause to move by or as if by a shuttle

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• shuttlelike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• shuttling
  present
• shuttled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• shuttle
  simple
• shuttles
  simple
• have shuttled
  perfect
• has shuttled
  perfect
• am shuttling
  progressive
• are shuttling
  progressive
• is shuttling
  progressive
• have been shuttling
  perfect progressive
• has been shuttling
  perfect progressive

Past

• shuttled
  simple
• had shuttled
  perfect
• was shuttling
  progressive
• were shuttling
  progressive
• had been shuttling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will shuttle
  simple
• will have shuttled
  perfect
• will be shuttling
  progressive
• will have been shuttling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of shuttle

before 900; Middle English shotil (noun), Old English scytel dart, arrow; cognate with Old Norse skutill harpoon; akin to shut, shoot ¹

Explanation

A shuttle runs between two or more places regularly. The benefit to staying at a hotel close to the airport is that you can take a shuttle, or a regular bus that travels back and forth, to catch your plane in the morning. Airport shuttles are often buses, although they can also be trains, vans, or any other form of transportation. Some airplanes are shuttles, flying passengers on quick trips. You can also use the word shuttle as a verb, to describe what the bus itself does as it moves back and forth. The original meaning of shuttle is the part of a hand loom that moves to and fro in weaving.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shuttle shuttles shuttled shuttling

The city council is considering a series of measures designed to regulate the three-wheeled vehicles, often adorned in neon lights and blasting music as they shuttle visitors around Manhattan.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

A few of those tankers have been identified as shuttle tankers, according to maritime-security firms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

One of them, the first mate on a shuttle tanker, said he had been in and out of Hormuz twice in the past month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

The demand for shuttle runs exploded last month after drone attacks shut Saudi Arabia’s bypass East-West pipeline.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

The shuttle clanks as we shift off the dock and onto the launch rails.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

Deutsche Bahn is considering replacing its regional bus lines with autonomous shuttles, but sees a possible rollout only toward 2045.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

The JTB shuttles leave exactly 30 minutes after the end of the ninth inning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

Captain Tracy Batteese shuttles people and goods to and from Isle au Haut on the mail boat, which also functions as the island’s de facto ambulance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Graham shuttles off this mortal coil with no such vindication.

From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026

As we trundled through town, I saw a few women out in their front yards shoveling coal into shuttles to carry inside to their Warm Morning heaters.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Prada shuttled more big spenders to Milan last week than it did for its previous womenswear show in February.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Witkoff later confirmed on X that the talks had been held "through the mediators, who shuttled between the two sides throughout the day".

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

Instead of leaving on either that jet or “former” Air Force One, the president secretly hopped into an airport catering truck and shuttled to an Air Force C-32A, a smaller military plane.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

A surreptitious airport catering truck secretly shuttled Trump to a waiting military plane, which flew him out instead.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

Half an hour later, fifty nylon bags filled with gold coins, jewelry, rare gems, and precious artifacts had been shuttled out of the chamber through the crawl space.

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

To keep exports flowing from Gulf Arab states, the US military has been providing protection for tankers shuttling oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Elon Musk’s Tesla robotaxis and Amazon-owned Zoox are shuttling customers autonomously, but are nowhere near the scale at which Waymo operates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Erika Martinez, an Uber and Lyft driver in the San Francisco Bay Area, used to fill up her 2022 Toyota RAV4 every morning for about $50, before spending the day shuttling customers across the region.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026

The talks themselves are expected to be indirect: the two delegations sitting in separate rooms with Pakistani officials shuttling proposals between them, mirroring the format used in earlier Oman-mediated rounds.

From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026

White electric ferries made their way back and forth, shuttling fans over to the west side, where an observation train awaited them, its thirteen white-skirted flat cars outfitted with bleachers.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• airplane
• plane
• shuttle bus
• spacecraft
• train