shift

(shĭft)

1. To exchange (one thing) for another of the same class: shifted assignments among the students.
2. To move or transfer from one place or position to another.
3. To alter (position or place).
4. To change (gears), as in an automobile.
5. Linguistics To alter phonetically as part of a systematic historical change.

1. To change position, direction, place, or form.
2. a. To provide for one's own needs; get along: “See me safe up: for my coming down, I can shift for myself” (Thomas More).
   b. To get along by tricky or evasive means.
3. To change gears, as when driving an automobile.
4. Linguistics To be altered as part of a systematic historical change. Used of speech sounds.
5. To use a shift key.

1. A change from one person or configuration to another; a substitution.
2. a. A group of workers that relieve another on a regular schedule.
   b. The working period of such a group: worked the night shift.
3. a. A means to an end; an expedient.
   b. A stratagem; a trick.
4. A change in direction: a shift in the wind.
5. A change in attitude, judgment, or emphasis.
6. A change in position, as:
   a. Music A change of the hand position in playing the violin or a similar instrument.
   b. Football A rearrangement of players from one formation to another just prior to the snap of the ball.
   c. Baseball A rearrangement of one or more fielders for improved defense against a particular hitter.
   d. Geology See fault.
   e. Computer Science Movement of characters in a register to the left or right, as of the bits in a byte.
7. An act or instance of using a shift key.
8. Physics A change in wavelength, causing a movement of a spectral band or line.
9. Linguistics
   a. A systematic change of the phonetic or phonemic structure of a language.
   b. Functional shift.
10. a. A loosely fitting dress that hangs straight from the shoulder; a chemise.
    b. A woman's undergarment; a slip or chemise.

Related Forms:

• shiftˈer noun