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.

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

Other Word Forms

• shiftingly adverb
• shiftingness noun
• intershifting adjective
• reshift verb
• transshift verb
• unshifting adjective
• shifter noun

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.

Example Sentences

Whether the next general election is in two years as Farage predicts or in four years' time as is more likely, a lot can shift fast – including opinion polls.

From BBC

Slash has a deep fascination with Universal Studios, made clear by his knowledge of how the park’s backlot tram trek — officially designated as the World-Famous Studio Tour — has shifted over the years.

From Los Angeles Times

Jonsson has endeared Andy to the audience enough for future writers to expand his potential to shift course from an old story told too many times.

From Salon

In a second interview with Fox News, Hassett shifted blame to the BLS, criticizing their “bad response rates” on job number revisions.

From Salon

The vote came amid a wider debate over the Democratic Party’s approach to Israel, and whether recent actions represent a genuine shift in policy thinking, as opposed to a temporary, tactical adjustment to current circumstances.

From Salon

Related Words

• alter 
• change 
• deviate 
• drift 
• move 
• relocate 
• remove 
• ship 
• shuffle 
• transfer 
• turn 
• vary 
• veer