shifter
shifter Lexical Profile
shifter Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American A mechanical lever or control device used to change gears in a motor vehicle or on a bicycle.
"The cyclist adjusted the handlebar shifter to climb the steep hill more easily."
In folklore, fantasy, and speculative fiction, a supernatural being or creature capable of physically transforming its bodily form into that of another person or animal.
"The fantasy novel centers on a clan of wolf shifters living secretly at the edge of the forest."
A person or device that moves, transfers, or rearranges objects from one place or position to another (such as a scene shifter in a theater).
"A team of stage shifters worked quickly in the dark to replace the heavy backdrop between acts."
In linguistics, a word or grammatical element (such as a personal pronoun or demonstrative) whose specific referent changes depending on the speaker, time, or context of the utterance.
"Pronouns like 'I' and 'you' are classic shifters because their meaning reverses each time a new person speaks."
Australian An adjustable wrench or spanner with a movable jaw used for gripping and turning nuts and bolts of various sizes.
"He reached into his toolbox for a shifter to loosen the rusted plumbing nut."
• Rhymes for shifter
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Middle English as an agent noun from the verb 'shift' (from Old English 'sciftan', meaning to divide or arrange) combined with the suffix '-er'. In linguistics, the specialized term for deictic words was popularized by Roman Jakobson in 1957, building on Otto Jespersen's 1922 coinage.