v. & n.
v. 1 intr. & tr. diverge or cause (a train) to be diverted esp. on to a siding. 2 tr. Electr. provide (a current) with a shunt. 3 tr. a postpone or evade. b divert (a decision etc.) on to another person etc.
n. 1 the act or an instance of shunting on to a siding. 2 Electr. a conductor joining two points of a circuit, through which more or less of a current may be diverted. 3 Surgery an alternative path for the circulation of the blood. 4 sl. a motor accident, esp. a collision of vehicles travelling one close behind another. shunter n.
[ ME, perh. f. SHUN ]