Definitions for shaft
ʃæft, ʃɑftshaft

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.3 / 3 votes

1. shaftnoun

   a line that forms the length of an arrow pointer

2. shot, shaft, slam, dig, barb, jibe, gibenoun

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

   "his parting shot was `drop dead'"; "she threw shafts of sarcasm"; "she takes a dig at me every chance she gets"

3. shaftnoun

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

4. beam, beam of light, light beam, ray, ray of light, shaft, shaft of light, irradiationnoun

   a column of light (as from a beacon)

5. diaphysis, shaftnoun

   the main (mid) section of a long bone

6. cock, prick, dick, shaft, pecker, peter, tool, putznoun

   obscene terms for penis

7. spear, lance, shaftnoun

   a long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon

8. shaftnoun

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

9. shaft, scapenoun

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

10. shaftnoun

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

11. rotating shaft, shaftnoun

    a revolving rod that transmits power or motion

12. quill, calamus, shaftverb

    the hollow spine of a feather

13. shaftverb

    equip with a shaft

14. cheat, chouse, shaft, screw, chicane, jockeyverb

    defeat someone through trickery or deceit

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. shaftnoun

   The long narrow body of a spear or arrow

   Her hand slipped off the javelin's shaft towards the spearpoint and that's why her score was lowered, Sam.

2. shaftnoun

   A beam or ray of light

   Isn't that shaft of light from that opening in the cave beautiful?

3. shaftnoun

   Any long thin object, such as the handle of a tool, one of the poles between which an animal is harnessed to a vehicle, the driveshaft of a motorized vehicle with rear-wheel drive, an axle, etc.

   Dude, the baseball bat's shaft got broken by the amazing pitch!

4. shaftnoun

   The main axis of a feather

   I had no idea that they removed the feathers' shafts to make the pillows softer!

5. shaftnoun

   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!

6. shaftnoun

   A long narrow passage sunk into the earth, for mining etc; a mineshaft.

   Your grandfather used to work with a crane hauling ore out of the gold mine's shafts.

7. shaftnoun

   A vertical or near-vertical cave passage.

8. shaftnoun

   A vertical passage housing a lift or elevator; a liftshaft.

   Darn it, my keys fell through the gap and into the elevator shaft.

9. shaftnoun

   A ventilation or heating conduit; an air duct.

   Our parrot flew into the air duct and got stuck in the shaft.

10. shaftverb

    to equip something with a shaft

11. shaftverb

    To have sexual intercourse with someone

    Turns out my best mate was shafting my girlfriend.

12. shaftverb

    To cause someone harm, especially in a deceitful or treacherous way.

    He got shafted when his boss took credit for what he had done.

13. shaftnoun

    A malicious act, as in to give someone the shaft

    That guy at work gave me the shaft, he ratted me out to the boss for being late!

14. shaftnoun

    The main cylindrical part of the penis

15. Etymology: sceaft, from Germanic skaftaz. Cognate with Dutch schacht, German Schaft, Swedish skaft.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shaftnoun

   Etymology: sceaft , Saxon.

   1. An arrow; a missive weapon.

   To pierce pursuing shield,
   By parents train’d, the Tartars wild are taught,
   With shafts shot out from their back-turned bow. Philip Sidney.

   Who in the spring, from the new sun,
   Already has a fever got,
   Too late begins those shafts to shun,
   Which Phœbus thro’ his veins has shot. Edmund Waller.

   They are both the archer and shaft taking aim afar off, and then shooting themselves directly upon the desired mark. More.

   So lofty was the pile, a Parthian bow
   With vigour drawn, must send the shaft below. Dryd.

   O’er thee the secret shaft
   That wastes at midnight, or th’undreaded hour
   Of noon, flies harmless. James Thomson.

   2. [ Shaft, Dutch.] A narrow, deep, perpendicular pit.

   They sink a shaft or pit of six foot in length. Carew.

   The fulminating damp, upon its accension, gives a crack like the report of a gun, and makes an explosion so forcible as to kill the miners, and force bodies of great weight from the bottom of the pit up through the shaft. John Woodward.

   Suppose a tube, or as the miners call it, a shaft, were sunk from the surface of the earth to the center. Arbuthnot.

   3. Any thing strait; the spire of a church.

   Practise to draw small and easy things, as a cherry with the leaf, the shaft of a steeple. Henry Peacham.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shaftnoun

   the slender, smooth stem of an arrow; hence, an arrow

2. Shaftnoun

   the long handle of a spear or similar weapon; hence, the weapon itself; (Fig.) anything regarded as a shaft to be thrown or darted; as, shafts of light

3. Shaftnoun

   that which resembles in some degree the stem or handle of an arrow or a spear; a long, slender part, especially when cylindrical

4. Shaftnoun

   the trunk, stem, or stalk of a plant

5. Shaftnoun

   the stem or midrib of a feather

6. Shaftnoun

   the pole, or tongue, of a vehicle; also, a thill

7. Shaftnoun

   the part of a candlestick which supports its branches

8. Shaftnoun

   the handle or helve of certain tools, instruments, etc., as a hammer, a whip, etc

9. Shaftnoun

   a pole, especially a Maypole

10. Shaftnoun

    the body of a column; the cylindrical pillar between the capital and base (see Illust. of Column). Also, the part of a chimney above the roof. Also, the spire of a steeple

11. Shaftnoun

    a column, an obelisk, or other spire-shaped or columnar monument

12. Shaftnoun

    a rod at the end of a heddle

13. Shaftnoun

    a solid or hollow cylinder or bar, having one or more journals on which it rests and revolves, and intended to carry one or more wheels or other revolving parts and to transmit power or motion; as, the shaft of a steam engine

14. Shaftnoun

    a humming bird (Thaumastura cora) having two of the tail feathers next to the middle ones very long in the male; -- called also cora humming bird

15. Shaftnoun

    a well-like excavation in the earth, perpendicular or nearly so, made for reaching and raising ore, for raising water, etc

16. Shaftnoun

    a long passage for the admission or outlet of air; an air shaft

17. Shaftnoun

    the chamber of a blast furnace

18. Etymology: [OE. shaft, schaft, AS. sceaft; akin to D. schacht, OHG. scaft, G. schaft, Dan. & Sw. skaft handle, haft, Icel. skapt, and probably to L. scapus, Gr. , , a staff. Probably originally, a shaven or smoothed rod. Cf. Scape, Scepter, Shave.]

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shaft

   Shaft, Inc. is a Japanese animation studio founded on September 1, 1975 by Hiroshi Wakao. They are best known for their unique use of gags and references notably in Pani Poni Dash!, Maria Holic, Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei, Hidamari Sketch, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Bakemonogatari series.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Shaft

   shaft, n. anything long and straight, as the stem of an arrow, &c.: a long arrow, anything like an arrow in form or effect: the part of a column between the base and capital: the stem of a feather: the pole or thill of a carriage: the handle of a tool of any kind.—adj. Shaft′ed, having a shaft or handle.—ns. Shaft′-horse, the horse that is harnessed between the shafts of a carriage; Shaft′ing (mach.), the system of shafts connecting machinery with the prime mover.—Make a shaft or a bolt of it (Shak.), to take the risk and make the best of it—the shaft and the bolt being the arrows of the long-bow and the cross-bow respectively. [A.S. sceaft; prob. orig. pa.p. of scafan, to shave.]

2. Shaft

   shaft, n. a well-like excavation sunk into a mine for pumping, hoisting, &c.: the tunnel of a blast-furnace. [Prob. in this sense from Ger. schacht, a shaft; cog. with foregoing.]

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. shaft

   A body of a long, cylindrical shape; a stem, stalk, trunk, or the like. Hence, the stem of an arrow, upon which the feather and head are inserted; hence, an arrow; a missile weapon. Also, the handle of a weapon; as, the shaft of a spear. It likewise means a perpendicular excavation into the earth for the purpose of mining.

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. shaft

   Song lyrics by shaft -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by shaft on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. SHAFT

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Shaft is ranked #51176 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Shaft surname appeared 407 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Shaft.
   
   95% or 387 total occurrences were White.
   1.7% or 7 total occurrences were Black.

Matched Categories

1. • Beat
   • Equip
   • Light
   • Line
   • Long Bone
   • Passage
   • Passageway
   • Penis
   • Remark
   • Rod
   • Weapon

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'shaft' in Nouns Frequency: #2601

Anagrams for shaft »

1. hafts

How to pronounce shaft?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say shaft in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of shaft in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of shaft in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of shaft in a Sentence

1. Andrew Kauff:

   As it is raining today, the mine shaft hole has become much bigger, as it gets closer to the house I hope the area that has solid earth will remain intact.

2. Sir Walter Scott:

   O many a shaft, at random sent, Finds mark the archer little meant And many a word, at random spoken, May soothe or wound a heart that's broken

3. The US Navy:

   When pumping begins, up to 5 million gallons a day of water will be pumped from the Red Hill Shaft.

4. Costica Maroleanu:

   The member was black, and the only remaining skin was at the base of the shaft and highly infectious.

5. Chief Executive Gregory Hayes:

   You don't want to start that jet engine up with a shaft that's bent, even if we're talking about 5/10,000ths of an inch, you do three minutes of windmilling operation to cool the entire hot section of the aircraft down to the same temperature.

Popularity rank by frequency of use