Refine this word faster
Shaft
Definitions
- 1 The entire body of a long weapon, such as an arrow. obsolete
"A shaft hath three principal parts, the stele, the feathers, and the head."
- 2 the hollow spine of a feather wordnet
- 3 The long, narrow, central body of a spear, arrow, or javelin.
"Her hand slipped off the javelin's shaft towards the spearpoint and that's why her score was lowered."
- 4 a revolving rod that transmits power or motion wordnet
- 5 Anything cast or thrown as a spear or javelin. broadly
"[…]and the Thunder, / Wing'd with red Lightning and impetuous rage, / Perhaps hath ſpent his ſhafts […]"
Show 24 more definitions
- 6 a long rod or pole (especially the handle of an implement or the body of a weapon like a spear or arrow) wordnet
- 7 Any long thin object, such as the handle of a tool.; One of the poles between which a draught animal is harnessed to a vehicle.
"While Kitto chatted to William, Jessamy looked with interest at the dog cart. It had a pair of high wooden wheels with two seats back to back above. Between the shafts the bay mare tossed her head and fidgeted on the cobbles."
- 8 a long vertical passage sunk into the earth, as for a mine or tunnel wordnet
- 9 Any long thin object, such as the handle of a tool.; A rotating machine element used to transmit power; a driveshaft
"Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work."
- 10 (architecture) upright consisting of the vertical part of a column wordnet
- 11 Any long thin object, such as the handle of a tool.; The long narrow body of a lacrosse stick.
"Sarah, if you wear gloves your hands might not slip on your shaft and you can up your game, girl!"
- 12 a vertical passageway through a building (as for an elevator) wordnet
- 13 A beam or ray of light. literary
"Isn't that shaft of light from that opening in the cave beautiful?"
- 14 a long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon wordnet
- 15 The main axis of a feather.
"I had no idea that they removed the feathers' shafts to make the pillows softer!"
- 16 obscene terms for penis wordnet
- 17 A vertical or inclined passage sunk into the earth as part of a mine.
"Your grandfather used to work with a crane hauling ore out of the gold mine's shafts."
- 18 the main (mid) section of a long bone wordnet
- 19 A vertical passage housing a lift or elevator.
"Darn it, my keys fell through the gap and into the elevator shaft."
- 20 an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect wordnet
- 21 A ventilation or heating conduit.
"Our parrot flew into the air duct and got stuck in the shaft."
- 22 a line that forms the length of an arrow pointer wordnet
- 23 Any column or pillar, particularly the body of a column between its capital and pedestal.
"Spirit, that made those heroes dare / To die, or leave their children free / Bid Time and Nature gently spare / The shaft we raise to thee."
- 24 a column of light (as from a beacon) wordnet
- 25 The main cylindrical part of the penis.
"The female labia minora is homologous to the penis shaft skin of males."
- 26 The chamber of a blast furnace.
- 27 A relatively small area of precipitation that an onlook can discern from the dry surrounding area.
- 28 A component of a loom which holds the heddles and is raised by treadles to create the shed.
"Eight shafts are required to weave this structure. If you have four shafts, you may weave something similar by threading alternate blocks to plain weave and 2/2 basket."
- 29 An act of sexual intercourse. slang
"I sat on the sofa, got up, changed channels and doubted there'd be time to have a quick shaft and feign an orgasm today."
- 1 To fuck over; to cause harm to, especially through deceit or treachery. slang, transitive
"Your boss really shafted you by stealing your idea like that."
- 2 defeat someone through trickery or deceit wordnet
- 3 To equip with a shaft. transitive
- 4 equip with a shaft wordnet
- 5 To fuck; to have sexual intercourse with. slang, transitive
"Turns out my roommate was shafting my girlfriend."
Etymology
From Middle English schaft, from Old English sċeaft, from Proto-West Germanic *skaft, from Proto-Germanic *skaftaz. Cognate with Dutch schacht, German German Schaft, Swedish skaft. In Early Modern English, shaft referred to the entire body of a long weapon, such that an arrow's “shaft” was composed of its tip, stale, and fletching. Over time, the word came to be used in place of the former stale and lost its original meaning.
From Middle English schaft, from Old English sċeaft, from Proto-West Germanic *skaft, from Proto-Germanic *skaftaz. Cognate with Dutch schacht, German German Schaft, Swedish skaft. In Early Modern English, shaft referred to the entire body of a long weapon, such that an arrow's “shaft” was composed of its tip, stale, and fletching. Over time, the word came to be used in place of the former stale and lost its original meaning.
See also for "shaft"
Next best steps
Mini challenge
Unscramble this word: shaft