shift

[ shift ]

verb (used with object)

1. to put (something) aside and replace it by another or others; change or exchange:

   to shift friends;

   to shift ideas.

   Synonyms: substitute

2. to transfer from one place, position, person, etc., to another:

   to shift the blame onto someone else.

3. Automotive. to change (gears) from one ratio or arrangement to another.
4. Linguistics. to change in a systematic way, especially phonetically.

verb (used without object)

1. to move from one place, position, direction, etc., to another.
2. to manage to get along or succeed by oneself.
3. to get along by indirect methods; use any expediency, trick, or evasion to get along or succeed:

   He shifted through life.

4. to change gears in driving an automobile.
5. Linguistics. to undergo a systematic, especially phonetic, change.
6. to press a shift key, as on a typewriter keyboard.
7. Archaic. to change one's clothes.

noun

1. a change or transfer from one place, position, direction, person, etc., to another:

   a shift in the wind.

2. a person's scheduled period of work, especially the portion of the day scheduled as a day's work when a shop, service, office, or industry operates continuously during both the day and night:

   She prefers the morning shift.

3. a group of workers scheduled to work during such a period:

   The night shift reported.

4. Baseball. a notable repositioning by several fielders to the left or the right of their normal playing position, an occasional strategy against batters who usually hit the ball to the same side of the field.
5. Automotive. a gearshift.
6. Clothing.
   1. a straight, loose-fitting dress worn with or without a belt.
   2. a woman's chemise or slip.
7. Football. a lateral or backward movement from one position to another, usually by two or more offensive players just before the ball is put into play.
8. Mining. a dislocation of a seam or stratum; fault.
9. Music. a change in the position of the left hand on the fingerboard in playing a stringed instrument.
10. Linguistics.
    1. a change or system of parallel changes that affects the sound structure of a language, as the series of related changes in the English vowel system from Middle English to Modern English.
    2. a change in the meaning or use of a word. Compare functional shift.
11. an expedient; ingenious device.

    Synonyms: resort, resource, contrivance

12. an evasion, artifice, or trick.

    Synonyms: stratagem, subterfuge, ruse, wile

13. change or substitution.
14. Bridge. shift bid.
15. Agriculture. (in crop rotation)
    1. any of successive crops.
    2. the tract of land used.
16. an act or instance of using the shift key, as on a typewriter keyboard.

shift

/ ʃɪft /

verb

1. to move or cause to move from one place or position to another
2. tr to change for another or others
3. to change (gear) in a motor vehicle
4. intr (of a sound or set of sounds) to alter in a systematic way
5. intr to provide for one's needs (esp in the phrase shift for oneself )
6. intr to proceed by indirect or evasive methods
7. to remove or be removed, esp with difficulty

   no detergent can shift these stains

8. slang.
   intr to move quickly
9. tr computing to move (bits held in a store location) to the left or right

noun

1. the act or an instance of shifting
2. a group of workers who work for a specific period
3. the period of time worked by such a group
4. an expedient, contrivance, or artifice
5. the displacement of rocks, esp layers or seams in mining, at a geological fault
6. an underskirt or dress with little shaping

Derived Forms

• ˈshifter, noun

Other Words From

• shifting·ly adverb
• shifting·ness noun
• inter·shifting adjective
• re·shift verb
• trans·shift verb
• un·shifting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shift¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb shiften “to arrange,” Old English sciftan; cognate with German schichten “to arrange in order,” Old Norse skipta “to divide”; noun derivative of the verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of shift¹

Old English sciftan; related to Old Norse skipta to divide, Middle Low German schiften, to separate

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. shift gears. gear ( def 19 ).

Example Sentences

Finishing a shift together away from the office, Helen says she confided in her and warned her about Mohamed Al Fayed.

From BBC

Crusius’ manifesto, though, wasn’t just evidence of that shift.

From Salon

Around this time, a fundamental demographic shift occurred: New births no longer exceeded deaths in the United States.

From Salon

But concerns remain that a shift in policies could affect inflation rates.

From Salon

That fact has raised concerns among a coalition of tenant and housing advocates who want the city to shift course to reduce displacement.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• about-face
• alteration
• change
• conversion
• deviation
• move
• transfer
• transformation
• variation