Shifter

Origin

shift + -er

Full definition of shifter

Noun

1. One who, or that which, shifts or changes.
2. (dated) One who plays tricks or practices artifice; a cozener.'Twas such a shifter that, if truth were known, Death was half glad when he had got him down. — Milton.
3. (nautical) An assistant to the ship's cook in washing, steeping, and shifting the salt provisions.
4. (engineering) An arrangement for shifting a belt sidewise from one pulley to another.
5. (engineering, textiles) A wire for changing a loop from one needle to another, as in narrowing, etc.
6. (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.
7. A spanner with an adjustable jaw size.