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1. Dictionary

   Shift

   /SHift/

   

   verb

   • 1. move or cause to move from one place to another, especially over a small distance: "I shift the weight back to the other leg" 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 onto me"
   • ▪ change in emphasis, direction, or focus: "the wind had shifted to the east" Similar veeralterchangebackvaryfluctuateturnswingchange direction
   • ▪ move (data) one or more places to the right or left in a register: "the partial remainder is shifted left"
   • ▪ press the shift key on a typewriter or computer keyboard.
   • ▪ sell (something): informal "a lot of high-priced product you simply don't know how to shift"
   • 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 gearshift or gear-changing mechanism in a motor 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. one of two or more recurring periods in which different groups of workers do the same jobs in relay: "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. www.yourdictionary.com › shiftShift Definition & Meaning | YourDictionary

   www.yourdictionary.com › shift

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   Verb. Noun. Idiom. Filter. verb. shifted, shifting, shifts. To move or transfer from one person, place, or position to another. To shift the blame. Webster's New World. Similar definitions. To replace by another or others; change or exchange. Webster's New World. To change from one gear arrangement to another. Webster's New World.

3. www.wordreference.com › definition › shiftshift - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

   www.wordreference.com › definition › shift

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   to put (something) aside and replace it by another or others; change or exchange: to shift friends; to shift ideas. to transfer from one place, position, person, etc., to another: 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, esp. phonetically.

4. en.wiktionary.org › wiki › shiftshift - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

   en.wiktionary.org › wiki › shift

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   Apr 9, 2024 · shift (countable and uncountable, plural shifts) A movement to do something, a beginning. An act of shifting; a slight movement or change. There was a shift in the political atmosphere. c. 1620-1626, Henry Wotton, letter to Nicholas Pey My going to Oxford was not merely for shift of air.

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

   www.dictionary.com › browse › -shift

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   Shift definition: . See examples of SHIFT used in a sentence.

6. www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › us › definitionshift verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes...

   www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › us › definition

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   [intransitive, transitive] to move, or move something, from one position or place to another. Lydia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. I shifted uneasily under his gaze. shift from somebody/something to somebody/something The action of the novel shifts from Paris to London.

7. www.merriam-webster.com › thesaurus › shiftSHIFT Synonyms: 232 Similar and Opposite Words - Merriam-Webster

   www.merriam-webster.com › thesaurus › shift

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   Definition of shift. 1. as in to move. to change the place or position of he shifted the vase closer to the wall so that it wouldn't get knocked over. Synonyms & Similar Words. Relevance. move. relocate. transfer. remove. transport. disturb. budge. displace. replace. carry.

8. www.definitions.net › definition › shiftWhat does shift mean? - Definitions.net

   www.definitions.net › definition › shift

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   Definition of shift in the Definitions.net dictionary. Meaning of shift. What does shift mean? Information and translations of shift in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Login . The STANDS4 Network. ABBREVIATIONS; ANAGRAMS; BIOGRAPHIES; CALCULATORS; CONVERSIONS; DEFINITIONS; GRAMMAR; LITERATURE; LYRICS;