shuttle

The word “shuttle” means a vehicle or service that travels back and forth between two places. In plain terms, something (a bus, van, or spacecraft) that makes repeated back-and-forth trips, or the act of transporting people that way.

“Shuttle” is pronounced SHUH-tuhl (/ˈʃʌtəl/ in IPA).

Here is “shuttle” used in a sentence: “We took the airport shuttle to our hotel.”

Depending on how it is used, “shuttle” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “shuttle” comes from Old English. From an Old English word for a weaving tool that shoots back and forth across a loom.

“Shuttle” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Shuttle” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a vehicle or service that travels back and forth between two places.

A shuttle is a vehicle or service that runs back and forth between two fixed points, such as an airport and a hotel. A bus typically follows a longer route with many stops. The defining feature of a shuttle is its short, repeated to-and-fro journey.

A space shuttle is called a shuttle because it was designed for repeated trips back and forth, such as between Earth and orbit, rather than a single flight. The name reflects reusable, to-and-fro travel.

Yes, to shuttle means to transport people or things back and forth between two places, as in "a ferry shuttles passengers across the river." It can also describe people themselves moving to and fro, as in "commuters shuttle between the suburbs and the city."

Common collocations include "shuttle bus," "shuttle service," "airport shuttle," and "space shuttle." Each describes back-and-forth transport between two points.