space shuttle

noun

: a reusable spacecraft designed to transport people and cargo between earth and space

Examples of space shuttle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Things to do 🚀The Space Shuttle Endeavour, NASA’s final space shuttle, will soon be available again for public viewing. — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026 The Challenger space shuttle disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when the spacecraft broke apart 73 seconds after lift-off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, killing all seven crew members aboard. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026 During those years, 10 NASA space shuttle missions visited Mir. — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 6 Oct. 2026 One of them, DSP-16, even launched on a space shuttle (Atlantis) in 1991. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 2 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for space shuttle

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of space shuttle was in 1950

Rhymes for space shuttle

See All Rhymes for space shuttle

Browse Nearby Words

spaceship
space shuttle
space stage
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Space shuttle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/space%20shuttle. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

space shuttle

noun
: a spacecraft designed to transport people and cargo between earth and space that can be used repeatedly

More from Merriam-Webster on space shuttle

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about space shuttle

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All