shift

[shift]

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. You can either make a shift (that's the noun), or you can just shift (that's the verb).

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To divide; to distribute; to apportion.

Noun
the act of changing one thing or position for another; "his switch on abortion cost him the election"

Noun
the act of moving from one place to another; "his constant shifting disrupted the class"

Noun
a loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders without a waist

Noun
a woman''s sleeveless undergarment

Noun
a qualitative change

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Noun
an event in which something is displaced without rotation

Noun
a group of workers who work for a specific period of time

Noun
(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"

Noun
the time period during which you are at work

Verb
make a shift in or exchange of; "First Joe led; then we switched"

Verb
move and exchange for another; "shift the date for our class reunion"

Verb
lay aside, abandon, or leave for another; "switch to a different brand of beer"; "She switched psychiatrists"; "The car changed lanes"

Verb
change gears; "you have to shift when you go down a steep hill"

Verb
move from one setting or context to another; "shift the emphasis"; "shift one''s attention"

Verb
change in quality; "His tone shifted"

Verb
change phonetically as part of a systematic historical change; "Grimm showed how the consonants shifted"

Verb
use a shift key on a keyboard; "She could not shift so all ther letters are written in lower case"

Verb
move abruptly; "The ship suddenly lurched to the left"

Verb
change place or direction; "Shift one''s position"

Verb
move sideways or in an unsteady way; "The ship careened out of control"

Verb
move very slightly; "He shifted in his seat"

Verb
move around; "transfer the packet from his trouser pockets to a pocket in his jacket"

v. t.
To divide; to distribute; to apportion.

v. t.
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.

v. t.
To change the position of; to alter the bearings of; to turn; as, to shift the helm or sails.

v. t.
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.

v. t.
To change the clothing of; -- used reflexively.

v. t.
To put off or out of the way by some expedient.

v. t.
The act of shifting.

v. t.
The act of putting one thing in the place of another, or of changing the place of a thing; change; substitution.

v. t.
Something frequently shifted; especially, a woman's under-garment; a chemise.

v. t.
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.

v. t.
In building, the extent, or arrangement, of the overlapping of plank, brick, stones, etc., that are placed in courses so as to break joints.

v. t.
A breaking off and dislocation of a seam; a fault.

v. t.
A change of the position of the hand on the finger board, in playing the violin.

Shift

Shift , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shifted; p. pr. & vb. n. Shifting.] [OE. shiften, schiften, to divide, change, remove. AS. sciftan to divide; akin to LG. & D. schiften to divide, distinguish, part Icel. skipta to divide, to part, to shift, to change, Dan skifte, Sw. skifta, and probably to Icel. sk'c6fa to cut into slices, as n., a slice, and to E. shive, sheave, n., shiver, n.] 1. To divide; to distribute; to apportion. [Obs.]

To which God of his bounty would shift Crowns two of flowers well smelling.

2. 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.

Hastily he schifte him[self].

Pare saffron between the two St. Mary's days, Or set or go shift it that knowest the ways.

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

Carrying the oar loose, [they] shift it hither and thither at pleasure.

4. 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.

I would advise you to shift a shirt.

5. To change the clothing of; -- used reflexively. [Obs.]

As it were to ride day and night; and . . . not to have patience to shift me.

6. To put off or out of the way by some expedient. "I shifted him away." Shak. To shift off, to delay; to defer; to put off; to lay aside. -- To shift the scene, to change the locality or the surroundings, as in a play or a story.

Shift the scene for half an hour; Time and place are in thy power.

Shift

Shift , n. [Cf. Icel skipti. See Shift, v. t.] 1. The act of shifting. Specifically: (a) The act of putting one thing in the place of another, or of changing the place of a thing; change; substitution.

My going to Oxford was not merely for shift of air.

(b) A turning from one thing to another; hence, an expedient tried in difficalty; often, an evasion; a trick; a fraud. "Reduced to pitiable shifts." Macaulay.

I 'll find a thousand shifts to get away.

Little souls on little shifts rely.

2. Something frequently shifted; especially, a woman's under-garment; a chemise. 3. 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. 4. In building, the extent, or arrangement, of the overlapping of plank, brick, stones, etc., that are placed in courses so as to break joints. 5. (Mining) A breaking off and dislocation of a seam; a fault. 6. (Mus.) A change of the position of the hand on the finger board, in playing the violin. To make shift, to contrive or manage in an exigency. "I shall make shift to go without him." Shak.

[They] made a shift to keep their own in Ireland.

To divide; to distribute; to apportion.

The act of shifting.

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Usage Examples

I know from my own experience and from other people in the business that when you come from a place where nobody knew who you were and then there is this sudden shift to where everybody now knows who you are, there's an adjustment that you have to make.

The creative destruction that social media is currently unleashing will change more than technology or the leader board of the Fortune 100. It is driving a qualitative shift in the nature of relationships between brands and their customers.

Before, I guess, mum and dad were everything, but now, in my case, I had two new girls and all of a sudden they're completely dependent on you and there's a third generation. It's a funny shift all of a sudden. You have the babies, you have yourself and then you have your parents.

The big shift in approach on education that we are taking - which is different from what happened before - is that we trust teachers and we trust heads.

A shift is necessary toward lifestyles less geared to environmental damaging consumption patterns.

I think an old style of addressing environmental problems is ebbing, but the rise of the so-called conservative, political movement in this country is not a trend towards the future but a reaction to this very broad shift that we are undergoing.

Any serious shift towards more sustainable societies has to include gender equality.

Misspelled Form

shift, ashift, wshift, eshift, dshift, xshift, zshift, ahift, whift, ehift, dhift, xhift, zhift, sahift, swhift, sehift, sdhift, sxhift, szhift, sghift, syhift, suhift, sjhift, snhift, sgift, syift, suift, sjift, snift, shgift, shyift, shuift, shjift, shnift, shuift, sh8ift, sh9ift, shoift, shjift, shkift, shuft, sh8ft, sh9ft, shoft, shjft, shkft, shiuft, shi8ft, shi9ft, shioft, shijft, shikft, shidft, shirft, shitft, shigft, shivft, shicft, shidt, shirt, shitt, shigt, shivt, shict, shifdt, shifrt, shiftt, shifgt, shifvt, shifct, shifrt, shif5t, shif6t, shifyt, shifgt, shifr, shif5, shif6, shify, shifg, shiftr, shift5, shift6, shifty, shiftg.

Other Usage Examples

For me, titles are either a natural two-second experience or stressful enough to give you an ulcer. If they don't pop out perfect on the first try, they can be really hard to repair. Or, worse, if the author thinks they pop out perfect, but the publishing house does not agree, it's difficult to shift gears. And then? Then you go insane.

It's a tremendous responsibility to be direct descendants of the prophet Muhammad. This family has had the burden of leadership on its shoulders for 1,400 years. I'm not going to drop the ball on my shift.

I worked at a hot dog place, a bagel place, the Jersey Store and the hottest fashion joint around. I was getting too famous to work there anymore. I was almost showing up as a joke. I made $2,000 on my show the previous night and I'm going to go shopping during my five-hour shift.

I suffered from a mild case of postpartum depression after my second child and the physical challenge of maintaining an overnight shift at CBS, a marriage, and two in diapers made the symptoms worse and everyone in the house paid the price.

It's always uncomfortable for me when I take off my shirt. No one else is taking their shift off. Why is everyone else in these movies bundled up in layers of clothing and I'm taking my clothes off all the time?

Thanks partly to the kind of poets that we now have and partly to funding, there's been a gigantic shift in the way poetry is perceived... Poems on the Underground, poets in schools, football clubs, zoos.

People are naming it the Third Wave, the Information Age, etc. but I would say those are basically technological descriptions, and this next shift is not about technology - although obviously it will be influenced and in some cases expressed by technologies.

In my work you often get an abrupt shift in time, a jolt. But the emotional logic will take the reader on. I hope. I trust. After all, our memories do not work with any sequential logic.