SHAFT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does shaft mean? 

• SHAFT (noun)
  The noun SHAFT has 12 senses:

1. a line that forms the length of an arrow pointer

2. an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect

3. a long rod or pole (especially the handle of an implement or the body of a weapon like a spear or arrow)

4. a column of light (as from a beacon)

5. the main (mid) section of a long bone

6. obscene terms for penis

7. a long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon

8. a vertical passageway through a building (as for an elevator)

9. (architecture) upright consisting of the vertical part of a column

10. a long vertical passage sunk into the earth, as for a mine or tunnel

11. a revolving rod that transmits power or motion

12. the hollow spine of a feather

  Familiarity information: SHAFT used as a noun is familiar.

• SHAFT (verb)
  The verb SHAFT has 2 senses:

1. equip with a shaft

2. defeat someone through trickery or deceit

  Familiarity information: SHAFT used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SHAFT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A line that forms the length of an arrow pointer

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("shaft" is a kind of...):

line (a mark that is long relative to its width)

Holonyms ("shaft" is a part of...):

arrow; pointer (a mark to indicate a direction or relation)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

barb; dig; gibe; jibe; shaft; shot; slam

Context example:

she takes a dig at me every chance she gets

Hypernyms ("shaft" is a kind of...):

comment; input; remark (a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shaft"):

cheap shot (an unnecessarily aggressive and unfair remark directed at a defenseless person)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A long rod or pole (especially the handle of an implement or the body of a weapon like a spear or arrow)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("shaft" is a kind of...):

rod (a long thin implement made of metal or wood)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shaft"):

axle (a shaft on which a wheel rotates)

thill (one of two shafts extending from the body of a cart or carriage on either side of the animal that pulls it)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A column of light (as from a beacon)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

beam; beam of light; irradiation; light beam; ray; ray of light; shaft; shaft of light

Hypernyms ("shaft" is a kind of...):

light; visible light; visible radiation ((physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shaft"):

heat ray (a ray that produces a thermal effect)

high beam (the beam of a car's headlights that provides distant illumination)

moon-ray; moon ray; moonbeam (a ray of moonlight)

sunbeam; sunray (a ray of sunlight)

laser beam (a beam of light generated by a laser)

low beam (the beam of a car's headlights that provides illumination for a short distance)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The main (mid) section of a long bone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

diaphysis; shaft

Hypernyms ("shaft" is a kind of...):

long bone; os longum (in limbs of vertebrate animals: a long cylindrical bone that contains marrow)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Obscene terms for penis

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

cock; dick; pecker; prick; putz; shaft; tool

Hypernyms ("shaft" is a kind of...):

member; penis; phallus (the male sex organ ('member' is a euphemism))

Domain usage:

dirty word; filth; obscenity; smut; vulgarism (an offensive or indecent word or phrase)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

lance; shaft; spear

Hypernyms ("shaft" is a kind of...):

arm; weapon; weapon system (any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting)

Meronyms (parts of "shaft"):

barb (a subsidiary point facing opposite from the main point that makes an arrowhead or spear hard to remove)

spear-point; spearhead; spearpoint (the head and sharpened point of a spear)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shaft"):

assagai; assegai (the slender spear of the Bantu-speaking people of Africa)

javelin (a spear thrown as a weapon or in competitive field events)

trident (a spear with three prongs)

Sense 8

Meaning:

A vertical passageway through a building (as for an elevator)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("shaft" is a kind of...):

passageway (a passage between rooms or between buildings)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shaft"):

elevator shaft (a vertical shaft in a building to permit the passage of an elevator from floor to floor)

ventilation shaft (a shaft in a building; serves as an air passage for ventilation)

well (an open shaft through the floors of a building (as for a stairway))

Holonyms ("shaft" is a part of...):

building; edifice (a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place)

Sense 9

Meaning:

(architecture) upright consisting of the vertical part of a column

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

scape; shaft

Hypernyms ("shaft" is a kind of...):

upright; vertical (a vertical structural member as a post or stake)

Domain category:

architecture (the discipline dealing with the principles of design and construction and ornamentation of fine buildings)

Holonyms ("shaft" is a part of...):

column; pillar ((architecture) a tall vertical cylindrical structure standing upright and used to support a structure)

Derivation:

shaft (equip with a shaft)

Sense 10

Meaning:

A long vertical passage sunk into the earth, as for a mine or tunnel

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("shaft" is a kind of...):

passage (a way through or along which someone or something may pass)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shaft"):

air shaft; air well (a shaft for ventilation)

downcast (a ventilation shaft through which air enters a mine)

Holonyms ("shaft" is a part of...):

mine (excavation in the earth from which ores and minerals are extracted)

tunnel (a passageway through or under something, usually underground (especially one for trains or cars))

Sense 11

Meaning:

A revolving rod that transmits power or motion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

rotating shaft; shaft

Hypernyms ("shaft" is a kind of...):

rod (a long thin implement made of metal or wood)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shaft"):

camshaft (an engine shaft with cams attached to it)

crankshaft (a rotating shaft driven by (or driving) a crank)

driveshaft (a rotating shaft that transmits power from the engine to the point of application)

arbor; mandrel; mandril; spindle (any of various rotating shafts that serve as axes for larger rotating parts)

transmission shaft (rotating shaft that transmits rotary motion from the engine to the differential)

Holonyms ("shaft" is a part of...):

rotating mechanism (a mechanism that rotates)

Sense 12

Meaning:

The hollow spine of a feather

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

calamus; quill; shaft

Hypernyms ("shaft" is a kind of...):

rib (a riblike supporting or strengthening part of an animal or plant)

Holonyms ("shaft" is a part of...):

feather; plumage; plume (the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds)

• SHAFT (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Equip with a shaft

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "shaft" is one way to...):

equip; fit; fit out; outfit (provide with (something) usually for a specific purpose)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

shaft ((architecture) upright consisting of the vertical part of a column)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Defeat someone through trickery or deceit

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

cheat; chicane; chouse; jockey; screw; shaft

Hypernyms (to "shaft" is one way to...):

beat; beat out; crush; shell; trounce; vanquish (come out better in a competition, race, or conflict)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

Here come two hundred as tight lads as ever twirled a shaft over their thumbnails.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A shaft or opening on the surface of the skin through which hair grows.

(Hair follicle, NCI Dictionary)

The feathers on this sample lack a central shaft found in today’s feathers.

(Dinosaur Tail Found in Myanmar, VOA News)

“What do you mean?” I demanded; for, having sped his shaft, he was turning away.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

A rare autosomal dominant inherited hair shaft disorder caused by mutations in the type II keratin gene.

(Monilethrix, NCI Thesaurus)

It is usually superficial and arises from the shaft and rarely the glans.

(Penile Basal Cell Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

A cone-shaped projection in the shaft of the femur in which the iliopsoas muscle is attached.

(Lesser Trochanter, NCI Thesaurus)

A handle, usually attached to a shaft allowing manual rotation of the shaft.

(Knob Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

The other tomb has a 6-meter burial shaft "leading to four side chambers," which contained artifacts including fragments of wooden coffins.

(Discovery of Two Tombs Dating Back 3,500 Years Announced in Egypt, VOA)

There was him, and Red Ike, and Fighting Yussef the Jew, and another, with a good bit of blood betwixt the shafts.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)