shuttle

1 of 2

noun

shut·​tle ˈshə-tᵊl How to pronounce shuttle (audio)
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
shuttleless adjective

shuttle

2 of 2

verb

shuttled; shuttling ˈshət-liŋ How to pronounce shuttle (audio)
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

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
Noun
At 16 feet in width, the bridge will also be wide enough for future autonomous shuttles — small electric pod cars now in the development stage — that possibly could traverse the bridge in the future, authorities said. Judith Prieve, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024 Extra costs include the 18-hole Marina Vallarta Golf Club within a 10-minute walk, shuttle service to town, and treatments using organic products at the full-service, on-site AMET spa. Katherine Alex Beaven, Travel + Leisure, 20 Mar. 2024 Daufuskie is accessible only by boat (the official ferry offers four shuttles from Bluffton a day, five on Fridays), which is likely one of the reasons its 500 or so residents have been able to so carefully preserve its natural environment and its rich Gullah history. Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2024 The company has an airport shuttle and can be found at 11530 NW Prairie View Road. Natalie Wallington, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2024 Keep in mind that Dubai isn’t the greatest city for pedestrians — and, while Dubai Design District (or D3), a creative hub of designers and cool cafés, is just behind The Lana, a knot of futuristic highways separate the two (although plans are in the works for a shuttle service). Chrissie McClatchie, Travel + Leisure, 5 Mar. 2024 The city also has a separate community shuttle service for longer trips or bigger groups. Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 4 Mar. 2024 Some teams pitched in for their own carpool shuttle, Bennett said. Jenna Portnoy, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024 Apart from these, the platinum tickets also offer entry to the opening soiree, daily happy hours cocktails and access to a shuttle service between the two venues of the upcoming film festival. Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Verb
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 Sunil Metcalfe, Black Tomato London-born, Metcalfe shuttles between the UK and the US, servicing ultra high net worth clients on both sides of the Atlantic for Black Tomato. The Editors, Robb Report, 13 Mar. 2024 The buses shuttle thousands of workers to and from their homes, in villages 30 to 60 miles away. Alex Travelli, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024 According to the Los Angeles Times, Peter was shuttled between his mom's movie sets and his dad's commune during his childhood. Alexandra Hurtado, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024 In the months since, U.S. envoys have shuttled among Ramallah, Tel Aviv and Arab capitals, trying to bring the president’s vision to life. Loveday Morris, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 His owners shuttled him between extended family and eventually freed two other elderly slaves to take care of him. Cynthia Greenlee, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024 Northwest High School currently has all the career tech course offerings, and when the schools are combined, Colerain students will no longer have to be shuttled to the other high school to participate in those programs. Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 28 Feb. 2024 In the summer, a ferry shuttles passengers across the bay to the narrow slip of land called the Vistula Split, famous for white sandy beaches on the Baltic Sea coast. Danuta Hamlin, Fox News, 18 Feb. 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.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1550, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shuttle was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near shuttle

Cite this Entry

“Shuttle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shuttle. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

shuttle

1 of 2 noun
shut·​tle ˈshət-ᵊl How to pronounce shuttle (audio)
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 How to pronounce shuttle (audio)
-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

More from Merriam-Webster on shuttle

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