shuttlecock

American  

[shuht-l-kok] / ˈʃʌt lˌkɒk /

noun

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. 

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

He "scratched ice" as he negotiated the wicked 90� turns called Battledore and Shuttlecock, but only enough to slow his sled by a fraction.

From Time Magazine Archive

Calmly he watched a procession of other competitors fly into trouble at Shuttlecock.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Battledore and Shuttlecock" is an interior, with a graceful girl playing the game, to the amusement of a young child sitting on a nurse's lap.

From Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D. by Waters, Clara Erskine Clement