Definition of Shift

Verb: shift  shift

  1. Make a shift in or exchange of
    "First Joe led; then we shifted";
    - switch, change over
     
  2. Change place or direction
    "Shift one's position";
    - dislodge, reposition
     
  3. Move around
    "shift the packet from his trouser pockets to a pocket in his jacket";
    - transfer
     
  4. Move very slightly
    "He shifted in his seat";
    - stir, budge, agitate
     
  5. Move from one setting or context to another
    "shift the emphasis"; "shift one's attention"
     
  6. Change in quality
    "His tone shifted"
     
  7. Move and exchange for another
    "shift the date for our class reunion"
     
  8. Move sideways or in an unsteady way
    "The ship shifted out of control";
    - careen, wobble, tilt
     
  9. Move abruptly
    "The ship suddenly shifted to the left";
    - lurch, pitch
     
  10. Use a shift key on a keyboard
    "She could not shift so all her letters are written in lower case"
     
  11. (phonetics) change phonetically as part of a systematic historical change
    "Grimm showed how the consonants shifted"
     
  12. [N. Amer] Change gears
    "you have to shift when you go down a steep hill"
     
  13. Lay aside, abandon, or leave for another
    "shift to a different brand of beer";
    - switch, change
Noun: shift  shift
  1. An event in which something is displaced without rotation
    - displacement
     
  2. A qualitative change
    - transformation, transmutation
     
  3. The time period during which you are at work
    - work shift, duty period
     
  4. The act of changing one thing or position for another
    "his shift on abortion cost him the election";
    - switch, switching
     
  5. The act of moving from one place to another
    "his constant shift disrupted the class";
    - shifting
     
  6. (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 shift";
    - fault, faulting, geological fault, fracture, break
     
  7. A crew of workers who work for a specific period of time
     
  8. The key on the typewriter keyboard that shifts from lower-case letters to upper-case letters
    - shift key
     
  9. A woman's sleeveless undergarment
    - chemise, shimmy, slip, teddy
     
  10. A loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders without a waist
    - chemise, sack

See also:
shiest
shiftable

Anagrams containing the word shift

shtfi tshif ftshi iftsh hifts