shifter

  1. Noun.  One who, or that which, shifts or changes.
  2. Noun.  (dated) One who plays tricks or practices artifice; a cozener.
  3. Noun.  (nautical) An assistant to the ship's cook in washing, steeping, and shifting the salt provisions.
  4. Noun.  (engineering) An arrangement for shifting a belt sidewise from one pulley to another.
  5. Noun.  (engineering, textiles) A wire for changing a loop from one needle to another, as in narrowing, etc.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.