shuttle

[shuht-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)

shuttled, shuttling 

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)

shuttled, shuttling 

1. to move to and fro.

   constantly shuttling between city and suburb.

shuttle

/ 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

• shuttlelike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shuttle¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of shuttle¹

Old English scytel bolt; related to Middle High German schüzzel, Swedish skyttel. See _shoot , _shot

Example Sentences

The campus concierge offers students airport shuttle service for free if they wear a High Point University shirt; otherwise it costs $95—a lesson in brand awareness.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"But I'm going to tell you it is harder to be a parent than to be a space shuttle commander," she laughs.

Read more on BBC

Buses shuttled them from the city to the Silicon Valley campuses of Apple, Google and Meta.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The two survivors were rescued by a US military helicopter and then shuttled onto a US warship in the Caribbean, unnamed US officials told US media earlier.

Read more on BBC

These "dendritic nanotubes," as the researchers call them, appeared to shuttle harmful molecules from one neuron to another.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• airplane 
• plane 
• shuttle bus www.thesaurus.com
• spacecraft 
• train