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   shift

   /ʃɪft/

   verb

   • 1. move or cause to move from one place to another, especially over a small distance: "a team from the power company came to shift the cables away from the house" Similar movecarrytransfertransportconveytakebringbearlugcarthaulfetchswitchmove aroundtransposerelocaterepositionrearrangedisplacemoveslideslipmove aroundbe displaced
   • ▪ change the position of one's body, especially because one is nervous or uncomfortable: "he shifted a little in his chair" Similar changealteradjustmake adjustments toadaptamendrecastvarymodifyrevisereverseretractdo a U-turn onrow backeat one's wordsdo an about-turn onOpposite keepstick to
   • ▪ change the emphasis, direction, or focus of: "she's shifting the blame on to me"
   • ▪ change in emphasis, direction, or focus: "the wind had shifted to the east" Similar veeralterchangebackvaryfluctuateturnswingchange direction
   • ▪ move quickly: informal British "you'll have time for a bite if you shift"
   • ▪ move from a place or rouse oneself from a state of inactivity: informal British "shift yourself, Ruby, do something useful and get the plates"
   • ▪ move (data) to the right or left in a register: "the partial remainder is shifted left"
   • ▪ remove (a stain): informal British "thorough cleaning is necessary to shift all cooking residues" Similar get rid oftake outget offremovebudgeliftexpunge
   • ▪ sell (something): informal "a lot of high-priced product you simply don't know how to shift"
   • ▪ eat or drink (something) hastily or in large amounts. informal British
   • 2. change gear in a vehicle: North American "she shifted down to fourth"
   • 3. be evasive or indirect: archaic "they know not how to shift and rob as the old ones do"
   • 4. kiss and engage in sexually stimulating activity with (someone): informal Irish "she had kissed or shifted him three months earlier at a house party"

   noun

   • 1. a slight change in position, direction, or tendency: "a shift in public opinion" Similar movementmoveshiftingtransferencetransportconveyanceswitchtranspositionrelocationrepositioningrearrangementchangealterationadjustmentadaptationamendmentrecastingvariationmodificationrevisionreversalretractionsea changeU-turnrowbackabout-turn
   • ▪ the displacement of spectral lines.
   • ▪ a key on a typewriter or computer keyboard used to switch between two sets of characters or functions, principally between lower- and upper-case letters.
   • ▪ short for sound shift
   • ▪ the gear lever or gear-changing mechanism in a vehicle. North American
   • ▪ the positioning of successive rows of bricks so that their ends do not coincide.
   • ▪ a movement of the digits of a word in a register one or more places to left or right, equivalent to multiplying or dividing the corresponding number by a power of whatever number is the base.
   • ▪ a change of position by two or more players before the ball is put into play.
   • 2. each of two or more recurring periods in which different groups of workers do the same jobs in relay: "Anne was on the night shift" Similar work periodstintspell of workstretch
   • ▪ the group of people who work during a particular shift: "the bus was still waiting there when the day shift went home" Similar groupcrewgangteamsquadpatrol
   • 3. a woman's straight unwaisted dress.
   • ▪ a long, loose-fitting undergarment. historical
   • 4. an ingenious or devious device or stratagem: archaic "the thousand shifts and devices of which Hannibal was a master" Similar stratagemschemesubterfugeexpedientdodgetrickrusewileartificedeceptionstrategydeviceplan
   • 5. a period of kissing and engaging in sexually stimulating activity with someone: informal Irish "from getting the shift to getting hitched, there is an app for everything these days"

   Word Origin Old Englishsciftan ‘arrange, divide, apportion’, of Germanic origin; related to German schichten ‘to layer, stratify’. A common Middle English sense ‘change, replace’ gave rise to shift (sense 3 of the noun) (via the notion of changing one's clothes) and shift (sense 2 of the noun) (via the concept of relays of workers).

   Derivatives

   • 1. shiftable adjective

   Scrabble Points: 11

   • S

     1

   • H

     4

   • I

     1

   • F

     4

   • T

     1

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2. People also ask

   What does shift mean?

   • Get a quick, free translation! SHIFT definition: 1. to (cause something or someone to) move or change from one position or direction to another…. Learn more.

   SHIFT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

   dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/shift

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   What does shift mean in linguistics?

   • to shift ideas. to shift the blame onto someone else. Automotive. to change (gears) from one ratio or arrangement to another. Linguistics. to change in a systematic way, especially phonetically. to move from one place, position, direction, etc., to another. to manage to get along or succeed by oneself. He shifted through life.

   SHIFT Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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   What does shift mean in a sentence?

   • If you shift something or if it shifts, it moves slightly. He stopped, shifting his cane to his left hand. [VERB noun preposition/adverb] He shifted from foot to foot. [VERB preposition/adverb] The entire pile shifted and slid, thumping onto the floor. [VERB] ...the squeak of his boots in the snow as he shifted his weight. [VERB noun]

   SHIFT definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

   www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/shift

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   What is the difference between shift a verb and a noun?

   • loading examples... Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement. Shift the verb and shift the noun are very similar in meaning. A shift is a change in something or an adjustment in the way something is done.

   Shift - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms - Vocabulary.com

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   What is a shift in STH?

   • a shift in sth There's been a major shift in strategy. a shift away from/towards sth The shift towards specialisation favours smaller firms. Press shift to capitalize letters. In that way, those who occupy veto points may be bought out, thereby allowing policy to be shifted onto a new path.

   SHIFT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

   dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/shift

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   What makes a shift different from a change?

   • What makes a shift different from, say, a change is that it implies some kind of movement; a sense that the thing that you're shifting is still the same thing, just moving in a different direction. For example, when you shift gears in a car you're simply moving from one gear to another.

   Shift - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms - Vocabulary.com

   www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/shift

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3. dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › englishSHIFT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

   dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › english

   • Cached

   SHIFT definition: 1. to (cause something or someone to) move or change from one position or direction to another…. Learn more.

   • English (US)

     SHIFT meaning: 1. to (cause something or someone to) move or...

   • Back Shift

     BACK SHIFT definition: a period of work that begins in the...

   • Shift in Traditional Chinese

     SHIFT translate: 移動或改變, （尤指略微地）移動;改變;轉移, 改變（主意，立場等）, 換（檔）,...

   • Znaczenie Shift, Definicja W Cambridge English Dictionary

     SHIFT definicja: 1. to (cause something or someone to) move...

4. www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › shiftShift Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

   www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › shift

   • Cached

   The meaning of SHIFT is to exchange for or replace by another : change. How to use shift in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Shift.

5. www.dictionary.com › browse › shiftSHIFT Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

   www.dictionary.com › browse › shift

   • Cached

   Shift definition: to put (something) aside and replace it by another or others; change or exchange. See examples of SHIFT used in a sentence.

6. www.collinsdictionary.com › dictionary › englishSHIFT definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

   www.collinsdictionary.com › dictionary › english

   • Cached

   a change or transfer from one place, position, direction, person, etc., to another. a shift in the wind. 14. a person's scheduled period of work, esp. 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.

7. www.thefreedictionary.com › shiftShift - definition of shift by The Free Dictionary

   www.thefreedictionary.com › shift

   • Cached

   1. to transfer from one place, position, person, etc., to another: to shift the blame. 2. to put aside and replace by another; change or exchange: to shift ideas. 3. to change (gears) from one ratio or arrangement to another in driving a motor vehicle. 4. to change phonetically in a systematic way. v.i.

   1.	Shift - An Event In Which Something Is ...
   2.	shift - a qualitative change     ...
   3.	shift - the time period during which you ...
   4.	shift - the act of changing one thing or ...
   5.	shift - the act of moving from one place ...

   See full list on thefreedictionary.com

8. dictionary.cambridge.org › learner-english › shiftSHIFT | meaning - Cambridge Learner's Dictionary

   dictionary.cambridge.org › learner-english › shift

   • Cached

   to move something to another place: We need to shift all these boxes into the other room. shift verb (MOVE YOURSELF) to move into a different position: He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. shift verb (CHANGE SPEED) to change the position of the gears (= parts that control how fast the wheels turn) in a vehicle: to shift gears.

9. www.vocabulary.com › dictionary › shiftShift - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms - Vocabulary.com

   www.vocabulary.com › dictionary › shift

   A shift is a change in something or an adjustment in the way something is done. You can either make a shift (that's the noun), or you can just shift (that's the verb).