shuttle

Everyday

1. A shuttle is a bus, train or plane that goes back and forth often between two places, like an airport and a car park. tree →
2. A space shuttle was a spacecraft that could fly into space and land back on Earth like a plane, so it could be used again. tree →
3. In badminton, a shuttle (shuttlecock) is the feathered object you hit over the net. tree →
4. In weaving, a shuttle is the tool that carries the thread across the loom. tree →
5. (verb) To shuttle means to go or carry people back and forth between places many times. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons «the space shuttle» comes up in the story of space travel. In PE, badminton uses a shuttle. In everyday life, families take shuttle buses at airports and theme parks. In stories, «shuttling between» shows someone rushing about, for example a child whose parents live apart. Phrases: «shuttle bus», «space shuttle», «shuttle between», «shuttle diplomacy».

Examples

• We caught the shuttle bus from the car park to the airport. tree →
• The space shuttle landed on a long runway. tree →
• I hit the shuttle so high it touched the gym ceiling. tree →
• Mum shuttled us between football and swimming all Saturday. tree →
• The free shuttle runs every ten minutes. tree →
• On the loom, the shuttle flew from side to side. tree →
• My brother shuttles between Mum's house and Dad's house every weekend. tree →
• As the shuttle had run away the girl sat down to sew. tree →

Note

Countable noun; as a verb it is regular (shuttled, shuttling). «Shuttlecock» is the full name in badminton; «birdie» is common in North America. A shuttle goes back and forth on the same route, unlike a normal bus that has a long route.

In Jewish tradition

Job compares his days to the shuttle of a weaver, which flies quickly back and forth. It pictures how fast and hopeless life feels.

Interpretation. Commentators read it as the shortness of human life, which passes as quickly as the thread is woven.

Examples

• My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope. (Writings JOB.7.6, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable noun; as a verb it is regular (shuttled, shuttling). «Shuttlecock» is the full name in badminton; «birdie» is common in North America. A shuttle goes back and forth on the same route, unlike a normal bus that has a long route.