Meaning of shaft in English

shaft

noun [ C ]

/ʃɑːft/ us

/ʃæft/

shaft noun [C] (LONG OBJECT)

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a pole or rod that forms the handle of a tool or weapon:

shaft of His fingers tightened around the shaft of the golf club.

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a rod forming part of a machine such as an engine, that turns in order to pass power on to the machine:

the drive shaft of a car

the propeller shaft of an aircraft

See also

crankshaft

medical specialized

the part of the hair above the scalp

medical specialized

a long structure like a stem in the body

shaft of light

a beam of light:

A shaft of (sun)light came through the open door.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Poles, rods, shafts and sticks

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Tools

Machines - general words

Machines - parts

Substances & structures in the body

shaft noun [C] (PASSAGE)

a long, either vertical or sloping, passage through a building or through the ground:

a lift shaft

a ventilation/air shaft

a well shaft

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Engineering - mining & quarrying

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Holes, hollows and dips

shaft noun [C] (REMARK)

literary

a clever remark, especially one that is intended as an attack on someone or something:

shaft of John came out with an unexpected shaft of wit/wisdom.

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Remarks & remarking

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shaft noun [C] (TREATMENT)

the shaft US informal

unfair treatment:

give someone the shaft His boss gave him the shaft by firing him just before he would have gotten a bonus.

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Cheating & tricking

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shaft

verb [ T ]

informal

/ʃɑːft/ us

/ʃæft/

to cheat or trick someone, or to treat someone unfairly:

She was shafted by her agent over the film rights to her book.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Cheating & tricking

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(Definition of shaft from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

shaft | American Dictionary

shaft

noun

/ʃæft/

shaft noun (POLE)

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[ C ]

a long pole or rod:

Energy from the wheels turns the shafts and produces electricity.

The feathers at the end of the arrow’s shaft help it travel in a straight line.

Sliced beef was curled around a scallion shaft, then fried.

[ C ]

A shaft of light is a single beam.

shaft noun (PASSAGE)

[ C ]

a long vertical or sloping passage through a building or through the ground:

a mine shaft

an elevator shaft

The window looks out on an air shaft.

shaft noun (UNFAIR TREATMENT)

[ U ] slang

bad or unfair treatment:

Corporations pay almost nothing while taxpayers get the shaft.

(Definition of shaft from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of shaft

shaft

Whenever this shaft was constructed, it was filled in a dramatic ritual at approximately a. d. 500.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The shaft has an average diameter of 90 cm and descends 287 cm from the surface.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The entrance to the shaft descended from the eastern edge of the retaining wall of the enclosure.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Also, three of the vessels had been broken by the weight of the earth that had been used to fill the shaft.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

For example, a water pump will vibrate if its motor bearing is defective, if its shaft is misaligned, or if its mounting is somewhat loose.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The selection process has been mainly concerned with the size and pulses / revolution of the shaft encoder.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The shaft (calomus) consists of a straight tube which widens slightly before dividing.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Many contributors link the use of shaft tombs to lineages or similar social groups.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The trace fossil is surrounded by a marginal tube and an open vertical shaft connects it to the sediment surface.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A further simplification was the elimination of the impeller shaft from the simulation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These so-called bottom graves are known exclusively from large barrows and were associated with richer funerary gifts than shaft graves.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The longer spicule was 1719+1844 long, its shaft 546+570 long, forming 31+32% of the spicule length.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The shaft tomb discovered in the structure at the southern end of the plaza could strengthen this hypothesis.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, the numerous shafts and chambers of the tomb complexes were extensively used for later burials.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Some years ago a farmer working his field stumbled on the entrance of a shaft tomb.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with shaft

shaft

These are words often used in combination with shaft.

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access shaft

The site would also include a temporary access shaft and a jetty for the loading of excavated tunnel spoil on to barges for removal.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

balance shaft

The 60 degree vee-angle eliminates the need for a balance shaft, improving refinement while reducing mechanical complexity.

From

Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

central shaft

This tomb presented a central shaft that separated two chambers; within this tomb, a rich treasure composed of seashells, turquoise, and jadeite was found.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

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What is the pronunciation of shaft?