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

Shuttlecock and Bull: Eight badminton players have been disqualified from the Olympics for tanking.

From Slate • Aug. 4, 2012

Shuttlecock and Bull Eight badminton players have been disqualified from the Olympics for tanking.

From Slate • Aug. 1, 2012

A few yards further, he roared into a sharp right turn, had no trouble until his skeleton sled went too high into Shuttlecock.

From Time Magazine Archive

At Shuttlecock he misjudged by the merest fraction of an inch.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Speak for yourself," snapped the Shuttlecock, very peevishly; "you have fanned out my last feather, and what I'm to do now I can't think; I'm nothing but cork and leather!"

From Tales of the Toys, Told by Themselves by Broderip, Frances Freeling