shuttle

play

noun shut·tle \ ˈshə-tᵊl \

Definition of shuttle

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 :shuttlecock

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 :space shuttle

—

shuttleless

adjective

See shuttle defined for English-language learners

See shuttle defined for kids

Examples of shuttle in a Sentence

A shuttle takes people from the parking lot to the airport.

Recent Examples of shuttle from the Web

Subway trains were temporarily rerouted to the elevated lines between Fullerton and Cermak and bus shuttle service was put in place through the area of the shooting, the CTA had said.

— jeremy gorner, chicagotribune.com, "Man being questioned by Chicago police in Red Line shooting earlier this month," 29 Aug. 2017
The shuttle buses taking guests there had to stop several hundred yards away from the final destination and people had to walk up a steep hill in the rain, so there was a whole lot of complaining.

— john hendrickson, Esquire, "The 'Rules' of Being a Man Are Bullshit," 22 Aug. 2017
Like the brief landings on the Moon (1969–72) and the longer space-shuttle flights (1981–2011), these still-longer flights on the International Space Station were merely meant to establish human norms before actual experiments could take place.

— tom wolfe, vanityfair.com, "Read the Letter Astronaut Scott Kelly Sent to Tom Wolfe from Space," 16 Aug. 2017
Other proposals in the nine-month, nearly $250,000 study include shuttle service between shopping areas, two bridges to take pedestrians and cyclists over U.S. 30, and crosswalks with center islands along the highway.

— tim zorn, Post-Tribune, "NIRPC study calls for tunnel under I-65," 21 July 2017
Tillerson’s shuttle diplomacy showed no early success.

— karen deyoung, Washington Post, "Qatar’s investigation of cyberattack stops just short of naming suspects," 20 July 2017
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently concluded several days of shuttle diplomacy and sealed a deal to intensify Qatar’s counterterrorism efforts.

— edith m. lederer, The Seattle Times, "Arabs urge Qatar to accept 6 principles to combat extremism," 18 July 2017
Ross Stripling, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (Carroll): Stripling knows the shuttle between the parent club and Triple A Oklahoma City all too well.

— the lonnquist notes, by kevin lonnquist, star-telegram, "Pro baseball players with Northeast Tarrant roots are struggling," 17 July 2017
The taxis for years have been accused of using violence against against competitors, including Uber drivers and the cross-border shuttle bus company, Ticketon.

— sandra dibble, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Tijuana officials vow to keep yellow taxis away from border," 14 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shuttle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of shuttle

Middle English shittle, shutle, from Old English scutel, scytel dart; akin to Old Norse skutill bolt, Old English scēotan to shoot — more at shoot

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

shuttle

verb

Definition of shuttle

shuttled; shuttling play \ˈshət-liŋ, ˈshə-tᵊl-iŋ\

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

1 :to move or travel back and forth frequently

2 :to move by or as if by a shuttle

See shuttle defined for English-language learners

Examples of shuttle in a Sentence

We shuttled between the city and the country all summer.
A bus shuttled people from the parking lot to the dock.

Recent Examples of shuttle from the Web

THE SUMMER OF ALL MY PARENTS Coming-of-age comedy-drama about a pair of sisters who spend the summer shuttling back and forth between their divorced parents.

— chris foran, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "New on DVD: 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,' 'Jessica Jones' and more," 22 Aug. 2017
General Motors is expanding its on-demand car-sharing business designed for gig economy workers who shuttle passengers and packages, to a number of U.S. cities, including Los Angeles.

— kirsten korosec, Fortune, "Microsoft Dodges Antitrust Threat With Windows 10 Antivirus Tweaks," 11 Aug. 2017
On Saturday afternoon, FAU shuttled four buses 44 miles south and held a preseason practice at Hadley Park, within shouting distance of high school powerhouses like Miami Central, Miami Northwestern and Booker T. Washington.

— matthew defranks, Sun-Sentinel.com, "FAU brings practice to Liberty City, Luther Campbell on Saturday," 5 Aug. 2017
SEC Media Days is the biggest whirlwind setup of any of these gatherings, with players and coaches being shuttled from room to room, often with a backpedaling cadre of cameramen in tow.

— bruce feldman, SI.com, "11 Takeaways From a Cross-Country Tour of College Football's Media Days," 31 July 2017
To reduce the impact of these fluctuations, a group of physicists working in Mainz, Germany, loaded the carbon nucleus and the proton into separate storage traps, then shuttled them quickly into and out of the measurement trap.

— gabriel popkin, Science | AAAS, "Surprise! The proton is lighter than we thought," 20 July 2017
From the air, nearly two dozen air tankers and helicopters are shuttling water and retardant over the fierce flames.

— CBS News, ""Extreme and aggressive" California wildfire doubles in size, forces thousands to evacuate," 20 July 2017
His senior housing complex in East Oakland is less than a mile from Interstate 880, a major corridor for freight trucks shuttling to and from the Port of Oakland.

— ngoc nguyen, Kaiser Health News, "Has California Hit The Brakes In Regulating Breath-Robbing Big Rigs?," 18 July 2017
The retirement gala began at 6 p.m. as guests were shuttled up to the Boddy House terrace, greeted with champagne and welcomed by Descanso staff.

— jane napier neely, La Cañada Valley Sun, "The Valley Line: Descanso’s David Brown feted as his retirement draws near," 10 July 2017

First Known Use of shuttle

1550

SHUTTLE Defined for English Language Learners

shuttle

play

noun

Definition of shuttle for English Language Learners

: a vehicle that travels back and forth between places
: a pointed tool that is used to weave cloth by pulling a thread from side to side across other threads

shuttle

verb

Definition of shuttle for English Language Learners

: to travel back and forth between places
: to bring (people) back and forth between places

SHUTTLE Defined for Kids

shuttle

play

noun shut·tle \ ˈshə-tᵊl \

Definition of shuttle for Students

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 vehicle (as a bus or train) that goes back and forth over a short route

3 :space shuttle

shuttle

verb

Definition of shuttle for Students

shuttled; shuttling

:to move or bring back and forth rapidly or often

The ferry shuttled travelers across the river.

Learn More about shuttle

See words that rhyme with shuttle Spanish Central: Translation of shuttle Nglish: Translation of shuttle for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of shuttle for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shuttle

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shuttle

Definition of shuttle

shuttleless

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Origin and Etymology of shuttle

shuttle

Definition of shuttle

Examples of shuttle in a Sentence

Recent Examples of shuttle from the Web

First Known Use of shuttle

SHUTTLE Defined for English Language Learners

shuttle

Definition of shuttle for English Language Learners

shuttle

Definition of shuttle for English Language Learners

SHUTTLE Defined for Kids

shuttle

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shuttle

Definition of shuttle for Students

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