shuttlecock
/'ʃʌtlkɔk/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- A lightweight projectile used in badminton: A shuttlecock is a small, lightweight object consisting of a rounded cork or rubber base with a conical crown of feathers or synthetic material, designed to be hit back and forth over a net in the game of badminton.
- The object used in the sport: It refers specifically to the equipment that replaces a ball in the game of badminton.
Verb:
- To send or toss back and forth rapidly: To shuttlecock something means to move or send it to and fro between people or places, often in a rapid or indecisive manner, similar to the flight of a badminton shuttlecock.
Examples
Noun:
- The player smashed the shuttlecock over the net for a winning point.
- A new shuttlecock is needed; the feathers on this one are broken.
Verb:
- The diplomats shuttlecocked the proposal between their respective capitals for weeks.
- The children shuttlecocked the beach ball back and forth across the yard.
Advanced Usage
- "To be shuttlecocked": To be sent back and forth between parties, often without resolution.
- The patient felt shuttlecocked between different specialists without getting a clear diagnosis.
Variants and Related Words
- Shuttle (verb/noun): To travel frequently between two points; a vehicle that does so. While related in the sense of back-and-forth motion, "shuttle" is a distinct word.
- Birdie (noun, informal): A common informal synonym for a shuttlecock in badminton.
- He served the birdie high and deep.
Synonyms
- Noun: Birdie (informal, in badminton context).
- Verb: Bandy, toss, batt, volley.
Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)
(Note: "Shuttlecock" itself is not commonly used to form standard phrasal verbs. The verb form is typically used transitively.)
Related Idioms
- "Like a shuttlecock": Used to describe something or someone being moved or passed back and forth uncontrollably.
- During the merger talks, employees felt like shuttlecocks, uncertain of their future.
Noun
- badminton equipment consisting of a ball of cork or rubber with a crown of feathers
Verb
- send or toss to and fro, like a shuttlecock