shaper

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a person, force, or thing that gives form or character to something

   Education was a powerful shaper of her political outlook.

2. 2
   noun

   a machine tool that cuts a flat or contoured surface by moving a cutting tool back and forth

   The machinist used a shaper to cut a precise groove in the metal block.

From Middle English shapere, formed from shape + the agent suffix -er. The word can name any person or influence that forms something, while engineering uses it for a machine whose reciprocating cutter shapes a workpiece.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images