# shaft

Pronunciation: US say "SHAFT" /ʃæft/; UK/AUS say "SHAHFT" /ʃɑːft/

## Noun

1. A vertical passage in a building through which an elevator travels.
   - Simple: The tall, narrow space inside a building where an elevator goes up and down.
   - _Firefighters lowered a rope down the shaft to reach the trapped elevator car._
   - _The renovation added two glass-walled elevator shafts to the atrium._
2. A vertical or sloping passage dug down into the earth as part of a mine.
   - Simple: A deep passage dug into the ground, straight down or at a slope, as part of a mine.
   - _Ore from the lower levels was hoisted up the main shaft in iron buckets._
   - _Fences now surround the abandoned shafts left by the old tin miners._
3. Any object that is long and thin, such as the handle of a tool.
   - Simple: Any long, thin object, like the handle of a tool.
   - _He replaced the splintered hickory shaft on his ax with a fiberglass one._
   - _Golfers with slower swings often prefer clubs with flexible graphite shafts._
4. A long rotating rod in a machine that transmits power from one part to another; a driveshaft.
   - Simple: A long turning bar in a machine that passes power from one part to another.
   - _Steam drives the turbine's blades, which turn a shaft connected to the generator._
   - _A cracked propeller shaft left the ship drifting for two days._
5. The long, slender stem forming the main body of an arrow, spear, or javelin.
   - Simple: The long, thin stick part of an arrow, spear, or javelin.
   - _She gripped the spear just below the point, where the shaft was wrapped in leather._
   - _Modern target arrows have shafts of carbon fiber rather than cedar._
7. A narrow, clearly defined beam or ray of light. *(literary)*
   - Simple: A beam of light, like sunlight coming through a window.
   - _A single shaft of moonlight lit the dust drifting through the empty hall._
   - _Through the broken roof, shafts of pale light picked out the rusting machinery._
8. A duct or passage that carries air for ventilation or heating.
   - Simple: A pipe or passage that brings fresh or warm air into a building.
   - _Stale air from the kitchen is drawn up a shaft and vented through the roof._
   - _Fresh air reaches the tunnel through three shafts that open onto a park overhead._
9. Any column or pillar, especially the part of a column between the capital at the top and the pedestal below.
   - Simple: A tall column, or the long middle part of a column between its top and bottom.
   - _The town raised a granite shaft in the square to honor its war dead._
   - _Fluting runs the full length of each shaft, from the base to the capital._
10. The long, cylindrical main body of the penis.
   - Simple: The long main part of the penis.
   - _The lesion appeared on the shaft rather than the glans, which narrowed the diagnosis._
   - _The surgeon closed the incision along the penile shaft with dissolving stitches._
11. One of the pair of poles between which a horse or other draft animal is harnessed to a vehicle.
   - Simple: One of the two long poles on a cart that a horse stands between to pull it.
   - _The groom backed the mare between the shafts and buckled the harness._
   - _A cracked shaft meant the wagon had to be left by the roadside._
12. The main central stem that runs along the length of a feather.
   - Simple: The stiff middle part that runs down the length of a feather.
   - _Under the microscope, rows of fine barbs branch off both sides of the feather's shaft._
   - _The shafts of the long tail feathers were striped black and white._
13. Anything hurled or thrown like a spear or javelin.
   - Simple: Anything thrown like a spear.
   - _The senator brushed off the shafts of ridicule aimed at his plan._
   - _In the myth, Zeus hurls one fiery shaft after another at the rebel giants._
15. An act of sexual intercourse. *(slang)*
   - Simple: One time of having sex.
   - _There was no time for a shaft before the taxi arrived._
   - _He bragged to his friends about a shaft with his ex, as if anyone had asked._
16. A relatively small area of precipitation that an onlooker can make out against the dry area around it.
   - Simple: A small area where rain or snow is falling that you can see apart from the dry area around it.
   - _Storm chasers photographed a heavy shaft of hail falling from the edge of the thunderstorm._
   - _Across the plains, isolated shafts of rain hung beneath the clouds while the ground around them stayed dry._

## Verb

6. To treat someone unfairly or cause them harm, especially by deceiving or betraying them. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To treat someone very unfairly, often by tricking or cheating them.
   - _Lenders who hide fees in the fine print are out to shaft their customers._
   - _Investors felt shafted when the founders quietly sold their own shares first._
14. To have sexual intercourse with someone. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To have sex with someone.
17. To fit something with a shaft.
   - Simple: To put a shaft on something, such as a tool or an arrow.
   - _The club fitter offered to shaft the irons with lighter graphite._
   - _The smiths shafted each spearhead with seasoned ash before the hunt._

## Noun

18. The entire body of a long weapon such as an arrow, not just its stem. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A whole arrow or other long weapon, with all its parts.
   - _She drew a shaft from the quiver, set it to the string, and let it fly._
   - _The arrowsmith checked every shaft, from the iron head to the feathers at the back._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The long, narrow pole that forms the main part of a lacrosse stick.
- (noun) The chamber inside a blast furnace.
- (noun) A part of a loom that holds the heddles and is raised by the treadles to form the shed.

## Origin

From Middle English schaft, from Old English sċeaft, from Proto-Germanic *skaftaz; related to Dutch schacht, German Schaft and Swedish skaft. In Early Modern English it meant the whole body of a long weapon, so an arrow's shaft included its tip, stale and fletching; over time it took the place of stale and lost that original meaning.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/shaft (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).