ENGLISH
REFERENCE

shuttle

n. · v.
US //ˈʃətəɫ// UK //ʃˈʌtəl// shut·tle
  1. 1 transport service (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    a bus, train, or plane that travels regularly back and forth between two specific places.

    a transport service or vehicle that makes frequent trips between two or more fixed points.

    Example

    The hotel provides a free shuttle to the airport every thirty minutes.

    Example

    The university operates a frequent shuttle between the main campus and the research facility to accommodate students with split schedules.

    Usage

    often used as a compound noun like 'shuttle bus' or 'airport shuttle'
    • shuttle bus
    • commuter service
  2. 2 spacecraft (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Science

    a spacecraft designed to travel into space and return to Earth multiple times.

    a reusable spacecraft designed to transport people and cargo between Earth and space.

    Example

    The space shuttle landed safely after its mission to the space station.

    Example

    The retirement of the space shuttle fleet marked the end of an era in reusable orbital vehicle technology.
Show 3 more sensesShow fewer
  1. 3 weaving tool (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical

    a tool used in weaving to carry thread back and forth across a loom.

    a device used in weaving for passing the thread of the weft between the threads of the warp.

    Example

    The weaver moved the wooden shuttle quickly through the threads of the loom.

    Example

    Traditional hand-weaving requires significant dexterity to catch the shuttle as it emerges from the shed of the warp threads.

  2. 4 badminton (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Sport

    another name for a shuttlecock, the object hit in badminton.

    a synonym for shuttlecock; the feathered or plastic projectile used in the game of badminton.

    Example

    The wind was so strong that it was hard to hit the shuttle over the net.

    Example

    The player replaced the damaged shuttle after the feathers became ruffled during a particularly intense rally.
  3. 5 to travel back and forth (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to travel or move someone back and forth between two places.

    to travel or transport people or goods frequently between two locations.

    Example

    The van shuttles guests from the train station to the mountain resort.

    Example

    The diplomat spent the entire week shuttling between the two capitals in a desperate attempt to broker a peace agreement.

    Usage

    can be used transitively with an object or intransitively
Origin

From a merger of two words: * Middle English shutel, shotel, schetel, schettell, schyttyl, scutel (“bar; bolt”), from Old English sċyttel, sċutel (“bar; bolt”), equivalent to shut + -le Middle English shutel, schetil, shotil, shetel, schootyll, shutyll, schytle, scytyl (“missile; projectile; spear”), from Old English sċytel, sċutel (“dart, arrow”), from Proto-Germanic skutilaz. The name for a loom weaving instrument, recorded from 1338, is from a sense of being "shot" across the threads. The back-and-forth imagery inspired the extension to "passenger trains" in 1895, aircraft in 1942, and spacecraft in 1969, as well as older terms such as shuttlecock.

© 2026 English Reference