shifter (English, noun)
expansion: shifter (plural shifters)
Senses:
glosses: One who, or that which, shifts or changes.
topics: human-sciences
linguistics
sciences
glosses: A word whose meaning changes depending on the situation, as by deixis.
glosses: Someone who plays tricks; a trickster.
tags: dated
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: An assistant to the ship's cook in washing, soaking, and shifting the salt provisions.
topics: engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: A control device (usually a lever or button) for shifting gears in a gearbox, or an arrangement for shifting a belt sidewise from one pulley to another.
topics: business
engineering
manufacturing
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
textiles
glosses: A wire for changing a loop from one needle to another, as in narrowing, etc.
topics: cycling
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A component used by the rider to control the gearing mechanisms and select the desired gear ratio, usually connected to the derailleur by a mechanical actuation cable.
glosses: A spanner with an adjustable jaw size.
topics: business
mining
glosses: A person employed to repair the horseways and other passages, and keep them unobstructed.
tags: historical
glosses: A switcher or shunter: a railroad locomotive used for shunting.
tags: Pennsylvania
US
topics: fantasy
human-sciences
literature
media
mysticism
mythology
philosophy
publishing
science-fiction
sciences
glosses: A shape-shifter; a person or other being capable of changing their physical form, especially a lycanthrope.
glosses: A shiftworker.
qualifier: spirituality
glosses: Ellipsis of reality shifter.
tags: abbreviation
alt-of
ellipsis
Forms:
form: shifters
tags: plural