SHIFTER

gearshift, gearstick, shifter, gear lever

(noun) a mechanical device for engaging and disengaging gears; “in Britain they call a gearshift a gear lever”

sceneshifter, shifter

(noun) a stagehand responsible for moving scenery

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

shifter (plural shifters)

One who, or that which, shifts or changes.

(linguistics) A word whose meaning changes depending on the situation, as by deixis.

(dated) One who plays tricks or practices artifice; a cozener.

(nautical) An assistant to the ship's cook in washing, steeping, and shifting the salt provisions.

(engineering) An arrangement for shifting a belt sidewise from one pulley to another.

(engineering, textiles) A wire for changing a loop from one needle to another, as in narrowing, etc.

(cycling) 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.

A spanner with an adjustable jaw size.

(mining, historical) A person employed to repair the horseways and other passages, and keep them unobstructed.

(US, Pennsylvania) A switcher or shunter: a railroad locomotive used for shunting.

(mythology, science fiction, fantasy) A shape-shifter, or a person or other being capable of changing their physical form.

(erotica) A genre of erotica focusing on lycanthropes or other shapeshifters, such as werewolves.

Synonyms

• (shapeshifter): See shape-shifter.

Anagrams

• reshift

Source: Wiktionary


Shift"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, shifts; one who plays tricks or practices artifice; a cozener. 'T was such a shifter that, if truth were known, Death was half glad when he had got him down. Milton.

2. (Naut.)

Definition: An assistant to the ship's cook in washing, steeping, and shifting the salt provisions.

3. (Mach.) (a) An arrangement for shifting a belt sidewise from one pulley to another. (b) (Knitting Mach.) A wire for changing a loop from one needle to another, as in narrowing, etc.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

3 May 2025

DESIRABLE

(adjective) worth having or seeking or achieving; “a desirable job”; “computer with many desirable features”; “a desirable outcome”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

Coffee starts as a yellow berry, changes into a red berry, and then is picked by hand to harvest. The red berry is de-shelled through a water soaking process and what’s left inside is the green coffee bean. This bean then dries in the sun for 3-5 days, where it is then packed and ready for sale.

coffee icon