1
a
: a device used in weaving for passing the thread of the weft between the threads of the warp
b
: a spindle-shaped device holding the thread in tatting, knotting, or netting
c
: a sliding thread holder for the lower thread of a sewing machine that carries the lower thread through a loop of the upper thread to make a stitch
2
3
a
: a going back and forth regularly over an often short route by a vehicle
b(1)
: an established route used in a shuttle
(2)
: a vehicle used in a shuttle
a shuttle bus
c
shuttleless
adjective
shuttled; shuttling
ˈshət-liŋ 
ˈshə-tᵊl-iŋ
1
: to cause to move or travel back and forth frequently
2
: to transport in, by, or as if by a shuttle
shuttled them to school
1
: to move or travel back and forth frequently
2
: to move by or as if by a shuttle
Examples of shuttle in a Sentence
Noun
A shuttle takes people from the parking lot to the airport.
Verb
We shuttled between the city and the country all summer.
A bus shuttled people from the parking lot to the dock.
Recent Examples on the Web
Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Apr. 2024
The hotel is an easy walk to 5th Avenue South, and a hotel shuttle will drop guests at the beach.
—Angela Caraway-Carlton, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
Following the Columbia disaster, NASA grounded its remaining fleet of three shuttles as the space agency sought to parse what went wrong.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
Under the agreement, the Department of Defense has also proposed providing a shuttle to ferry visitors out of the beach during evacuations.
—Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Guests can also expect their choice of six saltwater pools (with full service), a dock-to-dinner plate restaurant, daily happy hours and live music, and a free hourly shuttle service to Old Town.
—Katherine Alex Beaven, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2024
The other airport improvement projects include a new Terminal A exit road; additional gates for Concourse B; expansion of Terminal A; a ground transportation hub for a more efficient shuttle system and a better flow of traffic; and a consolidated rental car center.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 10 Apr. 2024
So the team prepared shuttle buses for employees and asked them to refrain from using their own cars.
—Takashi Mochizuki, Fortune Asia, 15 Apr. 2024
The Forum boasts a fully electric shuttle bus and rooftop solar panels.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2024
Matt Donnelly, Variety, 17 Apr. 2024
That would’ve meant figuring out car pools or public transportation to and from work, and little ability to shuttle her boys, ages 12 and 3, to doctor’s appointments and recreational activities.
—J.j. McCorvey, NBC News, 13 Apr. 2024
And for guests who want to visit a neighboring property, there is a golf cart service that shuttles you door to door between each resort.
—Susmita Baral, Travel + Leisure, 25 Mar. 2024
The agency had problems with launch delays, shuttles leaking fuel and the discovery of a flawed mirror on the Hubble Space Telescope.
—Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
There are more than 2,100 Falcon business jets worldwide, including the Falcon 7X that shuttles pop star Taylor Swift to venues on her Eras Tour Concert.
—Jonathan Burgos, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
This creamy soup shuttles the classic carrot-ginger duo into a deeply savory, fragrant direction, with a taste reminiscent of one of my all-time favorite foods: Japanese carrot-ginger dressing.
—Ellie Krieger, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
For months, the cargo ship had been shuttling around the Arabian Sea, uneventfully calling at local ports.
—Matt Burgess, WIRED, 1 Apr. 2024
With the click of a button on your cellphone a driver will shuttle you a six-pack of beer or bottle of wine, but not without strict age verification software.
—Nick Penzenstadler, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
Noun
Free shuttles will run to the fair every 15 minutes from the Shoppes at Carlsbad and Poinsettia Coaster Station.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Apr. 2024
The hotel is an easy walk to 5th Avenue South, and a hotel shuttle will drop guests at the beach.
—Angela Caraway-Carlton, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
Following the Columbia disaster, NASA grounded its remaining fleet of three shuttles as the space agency sought to parse what went wrong.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
Under the agreement, the Department of Defense has also proposed providing a shuttle to ferry visitors out of the beach during evacuations.
—Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Guests can also expect their choice of six saltwater pools (with full service), a dock-to-dinner plate restaurant, daily happy hours and live music, and a free hourly shuttle service to Old Town.
—Katherine Alex Beaven, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2024
The other airport improvement projects include a new Terminal A exit road; additional gates for Concourse B; expansion of Terminal A; a ground transportation hub for a more efficient shuttle system and a better flow of traffic; and a consolidated rental car center.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 10 Apr. 2024
So the team prepared shuttle buses for employees and asked them to refrain from using their own cars.
—Takashi Mochizuki, Fortune Asia, 15 Apr. 2024
The Forum boasts a fully electric shuttle bus and rooftop solar panels.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2024
Verb
In 2016, war broke out over the use of private chopper services shuttling festival goers from the airport at Salt Lake City to Park City, blasting wind and noise pollution over the expensive homes of Summit County on their travels.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 17 Apr. 2024
That would’ve meant figuring out car pools or public transportation to and from work, and little ability to shuttle her boys, ages 12 and 3, to doctor’s appointments and recreational activities.
—J.j. McCorvey, NBC News, 13 Apr. 2024
And for guests who want to visit a neighboring property, there is a golf cart service that shuttles you door to door between each resort.
—Susmita Baral, Travel + Leisure, 25 Mar. 2024
The agency had problems with launch delays, shuttles leaking fuel and the discovery of a flawed mirror on the Hubble Space Telescope.
—Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
There are more than 2,100 Falcon business jets worldwide, including the Falcon 7X that shuttles pop star Taylor Swift to venues on her Eras Tour Concert.
—Jonathan Burgos, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
This creamy soup shuttles the classic carrot-ginger duo into a deeply savory, fragrant direction, with a taste reminiscent of one of my all-time favorite foods: Japanese carrot-ginger dressing.
—Ellie Krieger, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
For months, the cargo ship had been shuttling around the Arabian Sea, uneventfully calling at local ports.
—Matt Burgess, WIRED, 1 Apr. 2024
With the click of a button on your cellphone a driver will shuttle you a six-pack of beer or bottle of wine, but not without strict age verification software.
—Nick Penzenstadler, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shuttle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near shuttle
Cite this Entry
“Shuttle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shuttle. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shuttle
1 of 2 noun
shut·tle
ˈshət-ᵊl
1
: an instrument used in weaving to carry the thread back and forth from side to side through the threads that run lengthwise
2
a
: a vehicle that goes back and forth regularly over an often short route
the airport shuttle
space shuttle
b
: an established route used by a shuttle
shuttle
2 of 2 verb
shuttled; shuttling
ˈshət-liŋ
-ᵊl-iŋ
1
: to move or travel back and forth often
2
: to transport in, by, or as if by a shuttle
shuttled the children to school
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