shuttle

—shuttlelike, adj.

/shut"l/, n., v., shuttled, shuttling.

n.

1. a device in a loom for passing or shooting the weft thread through the shed from one side of the web to the other, usually consisting of a boat-shaped piece of wood containing a bobbin on which the weft thread is wound.

2. the sliding container that carries the lower thread in a sewing machine.

3. a public conveyance, as a train, airplane, or bus, that travels back and forth at regular intervals over a particular route, esp. a short route or one connecting two transportation systems.

4. shuttlecock (def. 1).

5. (often cap.) See space shuttle.

v.t.

6. to cause (someone or something) to move to and fro or back and forth by or as if by a shuttle: They shuttled me all over the seventh floor.

v.i.

7. to move to and fro: constantly shuttling between city and suburb.

[bef. 900; ME shotil (n.), OE scytel dart, arrow; c. ON skutill harpoon; akin to SHUT, SHOOT]

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In the weaving of cloth, a spindle-shaped device used to carry the crosswise threads (weft) through the lengthwise threads (warp).

Not all modern looms use a shuttle; shuttleless looms draw the weft from a nonmoving supply. Shuttle looms fall into two groups according to whether the shuttle is moved by hand or automatically. The second kind is often described as an automatic loom, but except for shuttle movement it is no more automatic in its operation than the hand-moved or so-called nonautomatic loom. See also flying shuttle.

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