Definitions of shift [ʃɪft]

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Definition of 'shift'

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

1. (v.t.) shift
to transfer from one place, position, person, etc., to another:
to shift the blame.

2.  shift
to put aside and replace by another; change or exchange:
to shift ideas.

3.  shift
to change (gears) from one ratio or arrangement to another in driving a motor vehicle.

4.  shift
to change phonetically in a systematic way.

5. (v.i.) shift
to move from one place, position, direction, etc., to another.

6.  shift
to manage to get along or succeed by oneself.

7.  shift
to use expedients, tricks, or evasion to get along or succeed.

8.  shift
to change gears in driving a motor vehicle.

9.  shift
(of sounds in a language) to undergo a systematic phonetic change.

10.  shift
to press a shift key on a typewriter or computer as to type a capital letter.

11.  shift
Archaic. to change one's clothes.

12. (n.) shift
a change or transfer from one place, position, direction, person, etc., to another:
a shift in the wind.

13.  shift
a person's scheduled period of work, esp. at a place of employment operating continuously during the day and night.

14.  shift
a group of workers scheduled to work during such a period.

15.  shift
Baseball. a repositioning by fielders as a strategy against batters who usu. hit the ball to the same side of the field.

16.  shift
a gearshift.

17.  shift
a straight, loose-fitting dress worn with or without a belt.

18.  shift
a woman's chemise or slip.

19.  shift
Football. a lateral or backward movement by offensive players just before the ball is put into play.

20.  shift
a change or a system of parallel changes that affects the sound structure of a language.

21.  shift
a change in the meaning or use of a word.

22.  shift
an expedient; ingenious device.

23.  shift
an evasion, artifice, or trick.

24.  shift
change or substitution.

25.  shift
an act or instance of using the shift key, as on a typewriter.

Etymology: (bef. 1000; (v.) ME: to arrange, OE sciftan, c. OFris

Definition of 'shift'

Princeton's WordNet

1. (noun) shift, displacement
an event in which something is displaced without rotation

2. (noun) transformation, transmutation, shift
a qualitative change

3. (noun) shift, work shift, duty period
the time period during which you are at work

4. (noun) switch, switching, shift
the act of changing one thing or position for another
"his switch on abortion cost him the election"

5. (noun) shift, shifting
the act of moving from one place to another
"his constant shifting disrupted the class"

6. (noun) fault, faulting, geological fault, shift, fracture, break
(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other
"they built it right over a geological fault"; "he studied the faulting of the earth's crust"

7. (noun) shift
a crew of workers who work for a specific period of time

8. (noun) shift key, shift
the key on the typewriter keyboard that shifts from lower-case letters to upper-case letters

9. (noun) chemise, shimmy, shift, slip, teddy
a woman's sleeveless undergarment

10. (verb) chemise, sack, shift
a loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders without a waist

11. (verb) switch, change over, shift
make a shift in or exchange of
"First Joe led; then we switched"

12. (verb) shift, dislodge, reposition
change place or direction
"Shift one's position"

13. (verb) transfer, shift
move around
"transfer the packet from his trouser pockets to a pocket in his jacket"

14. (verb) stir, shift, budge, agitate
move very slightly
"He shifted in his seat"

15. (verb) shift
move from one setting or context to another
"shift the emphasis"; "shift one's attention"

16. (verb) shift
change in quality
"His tone shifted"

17. (verb) shift
move and exchange for another
"shift the date for our class reunion"

18. (verb) careen, wobble, shift, tilt
move sideways or in an unsteady way
"The ship careened out of control"

19. (verb) lurch, pitch, shift
move abruptly
"The ship suddenly lurched to the left"

20. (verb) shift
use a shift key on a keyboard
"She could not shift so all her letters are written in lower case"

21. (verb) shift
change phonetically as part of a systematic historical change
"Grimm showed how the consonants shifted"

22. (verb) shift
change gears
"you have to shift when you go down a steep hill"

23. (verb) switch, shift, change
lay aside, abandon, or leave for another
"switch to a different brand of beer"; "She switched psychiatrists"; "The car changed lanes"

Definition of 'shift'

Kernerman English Learner’s Dictionary

1. (verb) shift
to change or cause to change gradually
The energy company has shifted its focus to wind power.; The way health care is delivered is shifting.

2.  shift
shift the burden/blame
to cause sb else to have responsibility
He wants to shift the burden of taxes to the wealthy.

3.  shift
to move by small amounts
He shifted to the left.; The whole house had shifted in the earthquake.

4. (noun) shift
a period during which sb works
I'm working the 9 to 7 shift.; the day/night shift

5.  shift
a slight or gradual change
a shift in the balance of power; a shift toward the political right

Definition of 'shift'

Webster Dictionary

1. (verb) shift
to divide; to distribute; to apportion

2. (verb) shift
to change the place of; to move or remove from one place to another; as, to shift a burden from one shoulder to another; to shift the blame

3. (verb) shift
to change the position of; to alter the bearings of; to turn; as, to shift the helm or sails

4. (verb) shift
to exchange for another of the same class; to remove and to put some similar thing in its place; to change; as, to shift the clothes; to shift the scenes

5. (verb) shift
to change the clothing of; -- used reflexively

6. (verb) shift
to put off or out of the way by some expedient

7. (verb) shift
the act of shifting

8. (verb) shift
the act of putting one thing in the place of another, or of changing the place of a thing; change; substitution

9. (verb) shift
something frequently shifted; especially, a woman's under-garment; a chemise

10. (verb) shift
the change of one set of workmen for another; hence, a spell, or turn, of work; also, a set of workmen who work in turn with other sets; as, a night shift

11. (verb) shift
in building, the extent, or arrangement, of the overlapping of plank, brick, stones, etc., that are placed in courses so as to break joints

12. (verb) shift
a breaking off and dislocation of a seam; a fault

13. (verb) shift
a change of the position of the hand on the finger board, in playing the violin

Translation of 'shift'

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary

Sense: to change (the) position or direction (of) We spent the whole evening shifting furniture around; The wind shifted to the west overnight.
Afrikaans: van rigting verander	Arabic: يُغَيِّر وَضْع أو مَكان	Bulgarian: премествам (се)
Brazilian: mudar	Czech: přemístit se, obrátit se	German: verschieben, umspringen
Danish: flytte; skifte	Greek: αλλάζω θέση, μετακινώ, αλ	Spanish: mover, desplazar
Estonian: nihutama, pöörama	Farsi: تغيير مكان دادن	Finnish: siirtää
French: déplacer	Hebrew: לְשָנוֹת כִּיווּן	Hindi: बदलना
Croatian: pomicati, premetati	Hungarian: áthelyez; eltolódik	Indonesian: mengubah posisi
Icelandic: færa, flytja til	Italian: spostare, spostarsi	Japanese: 移す
Korean: 옮기다, 변화하다	Lithuanian: keisti(s)	Latvian: pārvietot; pārvietoties
Malay: mengalih	Dutch: van plaats (doen) verande	Norwegian: skifte, flytte (på)
Polish: przesuwać, przerzucać	Persian: تغيير مكان دادن	Pashto: بدلول، اړول، ګذران كول، ب
Portuguese: mudar	Romanian: a deplasa	Russian: перемещать, менять направ
Slovak: premiestniť; obrátiť sa (	Slovenian: premikati	Serbian: pomerati
Swedish: flytta [om], skifta,ändra	Thai: เคลื่อนย้าย	Turkish: yerini değiştirmek, kımıl
Taiwanese: 轉移，轉向	Ukrainian: переміщати(ся); пересуват	Urdu: منتقل ہونا یا کرنا
Vietnamese: đổi chỗ, di chuyển	Chinese: 转移，转变
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