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SHAFT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The hollow spine of a feather
Synonyms:
Classified under:
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)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A revolving rod that transmits power or motion
Synonyms:
rotating shaft; shaft
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"):
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 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"):
thill (one of two shafts extending from the body of a cart or carriage on either side of the animal that pulls it)
axle (a shaft on which a wheel rotates)
Sense 4
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 5
Meaning:
(architecture) upright consisting of the vertical part of a column
Synonyms:
scape; shaft
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
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 6
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"):
well (an open shaft through the floors of a building (as for a stairway))
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)
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 7
Meaning:
A long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
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:
Obscene terms for penis
Synonyms:
cock; dick; pecker; prick; putz; shaft; tool
Classified under:
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 9
Meaning:
The main (mid) section of a long bone
Synonyms:
diaphysis; shaft
Classified under:
Nouns denoting body parts
Hypernyms ("shaft" is a kind of...):
long bone; os longum (in limbs of vertebrate animals: a long cylindrical bone that contains marrow)
Sense 10
Meaning:
An aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect
Example:
she takes a dig at me every chance she gets
Synonyms:
barb; dig; gibe; jibe; shaft; shot; slam
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
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 11
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 12
Meaning:
A column of light (as from a beacon)
Synonyms:
beam; beam of light; irradiation; light beam; ray; ray of light; shaft; shaft of light
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
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)
II. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they shaft ... he / she / it shafts
Past simple: shafted
Past participle: shafted
-ing form: shafting
Sense 1
Meaning:
Defeat someone through trickery or deceit
Synonyms:
cheat; chicane; chouse; jockey; screw; shaft
Classified under:
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities
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
Sense 2
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)
Context examples:
He saw these other scenes through drifting vapors and swirls of sullen fog dissolving before shafts of red and garish light.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Bats by the thousands congregate in such caves and mine shafts, spending their winters away from the elements.
(Hibernation season over, will disease-ridden bats emerge from caves and mines this spring?, NSF)
A device consisting of a narrow loop of material moving over shafts or pulleys.
(Belt Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)
In this were the shaft of a pick broken in two and the boards of several packing-cases strewn around.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Excludes fractures of the acetabulum and fractures of the femoral shaft below the subtrochanteric region (FEMORAL FRACTURES).
(Hip Fracture, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
A cylindrical metal sleeve designed to reduce the friction of a rotating shaft.
(Bushing Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)
An extension to a shaft designed to impart a rotational energy to the shaft.
(Crank Arm Assembly Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)
There was a grass-grown track descending the forest aisle between hoar and knotty shafts and under branched arches.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
He said a shaft in the tomb contained mummies belonging to ancient Egyptian people who lived during the 21st and 22nd dynasties.
(Egypt Announces Discovery of 3,500-Year-Old Luxor Tomb, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
Representative examples may include alopecia, male pattern baldness, hirsutism, and hair shaft disorders.
(Non-Neoplastic Hair Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)
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