shuttlecock

American  

[shuht-l-kok] / ˈʃʌt lˌkɒk /

noun

• shuttlecocks
  plural

1. Also called shuttle. the object that is struck back and forth in badminton and battledore, consisting of a feathered cork head and a plastic crown.

2. the game of battledore.

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verb (used with object)

1. to send or bandy to and fro like a shuttlecock.

verb (used without object)

1. to move or be bandied to and fro.

adjective

1. of such a state or condition.

   a shuttlecock existence.

shuttlecock British  

/ ˈʃʌtəlˌkɒk /

noun

1. Often shortened to: shuttle. a light cone consisting of a cork stub with feathered flights, struck to and fro in badminton and battledore

2. anything moved to and fro, as in an argument

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verb

1. to move or cause to move to and fro, like a shuttlecock

Usage

What is a shuttlecock? A shuttlecock is the object that’s volleyed back and forth over the net with rackets in the sports of badminton and battledore. It’s not a ball—it consists of a cork head and a feathered cone. It can also be called a shuttle, birdie, or bird. The feathered part of the shuttlecock may consist of actual feathers (usually from a goose) or synthetic materials. Traditional shuttlecocks weigh about 5 grams (. 18 ounces) and have 16 feathers attached to the top. The shuttlecock is best-known for its use in badminton, but it is also used in the lesser-known sport of battledore, which is sometimes called battledore and shuttlecock. The word shuttlecock is sometimes also used in a figurative way to refer to something moved back and forth, or as a verb meaning to move back and forth or send something to and fro—a reference to the way that a shuttlecock is volleyed back and forth. Example: The movements of the shuttlecock are much different than those of a ball and make badminton a dynamic game. 

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• shuttlecocks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of shuttlecock

First recorded in 1515–25; shuttle + cock ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shuttlecock shuttlecocks

Young Anakin’s podracer, a striped cockpit strapped to twin shuttlecock engines, stretches down one side of an aisle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Struck repeatedly and energetically at both ends of the room, the shuttlecock flies high.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

"We are aware of the global supply chain challenges and subsequent increases in feathered shuttlecock prices impacting badminton communities around the world," BWF secretary general Thomas Lund said in a statement at the time.

From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2026

Kids ride electric hoverboards, or they may play da cau, a sport dating back nearly 1,500 years that involves kicking a shuttlecock.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 24, 2024

He meant a shuttlecock burqa, which covers the whole face, with only a mesh grille to see through.

From "Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Changed the World" by Malala Yousafzai

Badminton's world governing body has approved the use of synthetic shuttlecocks in selected tournaments amid a shortage of duck and goose feathers.

From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2026

In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, a trio of scientists in India explored the aerodynamic performance of nylon shuttlecocks at various flight speeds.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2024

I have often thought of those double acrostics, their letters tossed through the air like shuttlecocks, in trying to understand how Mr. Sondheim managed to do what he did.

From New York Times ● Nov. 26, 2021

The 1930s Nelson-Atkins Museum, for one, is known for its collection of Chinese paintings, as well as the 17-foot-tall shuttlecocks on its lawn.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2016

The two alternatives flew back and forth in her mind like shuttlecocks.

From The Vehement Flame by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland