Definition of shifter

• n. - One who, or that which, shifts; one who plays tricks or practices artifice; a cozener.
• n. - An assistant to the ship's cook in washing, steeping, and shifting the salt provisions.
• n. - An arrangement for shifting a belt sidewise from one pulley to another.
• n. - A wire for changing a loop from one needle to another, as in narrowing, etc.