I. shaft 1 /ʃɑːft $ ʃæft/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: sceaft ]
1 . PASSAGE a passage which goes down through a building or down into the ground, so that someone or something can get in or out
mine/elevator/ventilation etc shaft
a 300-foot elevator shaft
2 . HANDLE a long handle on a tool, ↑ spear etc
3 . OF LIGHT a narrow beam of light
shaft of light/sunlight
4 . ENGINE PART a long thin piece of metal in an engine or machine, that turns and passes on power or movement to another part of the machine:
a drive shaft
5 . FOR A HORSE [usually plural] one of a pair of poles between which a horse is tied to pull a vehicle
6 . ARROW literary an ↑ arrow
7 . get the shaft informal to be treated very unfairly
II. shaft 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive] informal not polite
to treat someone very unfairly, especially by dishonestly getting money from them:
I can’t believe you paid that much. You got shafted.