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 ( def 1 ).
5. (often initial capital letter) space shuttle.

verb (used with object)

, shut·tled, shut·tling.

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)

, shut·tled, shut·tling.

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. See shuttlecock
   badminton short for shuttlecock

verb

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

Other Words From

• shuttle·like 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

Until then, Metro officials said customers can use shuttle buses, which will ferry riders between stations.

From Washington Post

There is a shuttle bus taking passengers to L’Enfant plaza metro.

From Washington Post

“The Zoo pays FONZ to perform in-park services, such as operating guest shuttles, renting strollers, and even emptying the trash, that FONZ performed more efficiently than either the Zoo or for-profit vendors could,” she said in an email.

From Washington Post

After three decades, on July 21, 2011, NASA’s space shuttle program completed its 135th, and final, mission, when the shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

From Popular-Science

From there you can take a shuttle 80 miles north to Grand Canyon Village.

From Outside Online

The first shuttle flights with two crew members used ejection seats and full pressure suits.

From The Daily Beast

It could have had a burn-through like Challenger Shuttle, but I would have thought that would take longer.

From The Daily Beast

Once a day, she says, a shuttle bus took them into town, dropping them not so subtly near the train station.

From The Daily Beast

He used the Lear—which seated only six and had no bar—mostly to shuttle his pals between Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and Las Vegas.

From The Daily Beast

Similar to the Space Shuttle in appearance, the diminutive X-37B is about a quarter the size of the old shuttles.

From The Daily Beast

He got on the shuttle and over to the West side and up to 96th and across the street from where Louis lived.

From Project Gutenberg

Bent low over the machine, he seems absorbed in the work, his hands deftly manipulating the shuttle, his foot on the treadle.

From Project Gutenberg

Last night, when Iftikhar spoke to you soft and low, I could see your eye following his as a weaver's the shuttle.

From Project Gutenberg

But while I admired, I wondered what had called forth in a lad so shuttle-witted this enduring sense of duty.

From Project Gutenberg

Vaguely, uneasiness grew in his mind as he entered the shuttle station.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• commute