shuttle

shuttle

1. a bobbin-like device used in weaving for passing the weft thread between the warp threads

2. 

a. a bus, train, aircraft, etc., that plies between two points, esp one that offers a frequent service over a short route

b. short for space shuttle

3. 

a. the movement between various countries of a diplomat in order to negotiate with rulers who refuse to meet each other

b. (as modifier): shuttle diplomacy

4. Badminton short for shuttlecock

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

shuttle

Short for space shuttle.

Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006

shuttle

[′shəd·əl]

(mechanical engineering)

A back-and-forth motion of a machine which continues to face in one direction.

(nucleonics)

rabbit

(textiles)

A device on a loom that moves filling yarns between the warp yarns during weaving.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

shuttle

A descent or a climb conducted in a holding pattern.

An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Shuttle

 

(1) In weaving, the working element of a loom that interlaces the weft yarns with the warp yarns to weave cloth. It is a streamlined body with a cavity, in which a bobbin for the weft is located. Shuttles may be made of hard wood (hornbeam, boxwood, and acacia), compressed wood, or plastic. In order to increase the durability and smoothness of the external walls, shuttles may be covered with vulcanized fiber 2 mm thick. The ends are clad with steel tips. The design of a shuttle depends on the design and purpose of the loom, the weight-to-length ratio of the weft yarn, and the size of the weft yarn package.

(2) In sewing, the working element of a lockstitch sewing machine, which inserts the bottom thread into the stitch.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.