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shift definition

shift (s̸hift)

transitive verb

  1. to move or transfer from one person, place, or position to another to shift the blame
  2. to replace by another or others; change or exchange
  3. to change (gears) from one arrangement to another in driving a motor vehicle
  4. to change phonetically, as by Grimm's law
  5. Now Chiefly Dial. to change (clothes)

Etymology: ME schiften < OE sciftan, to divide, separate < IE *skeib- > ship

intransitive verb

    1. to change position, direction, form, character, etc.
    2. to undergo phonetic change
  1. to get along; manage to shift for oneself
  2. to use tricky, evasive, or expedient methods
  3. ☆ to change from one gear arrangement to another
  4. in typing, to change from small letters, etc. to capitals, etc. by depressing a key (shift key)
  5. Now Chiefly Dial. to change one's clothing

noun

  1. the act of shifting from one person, place, position, etc. to another; change; transfer; substitution
  2. a means or plan of conduct, esp. one followed in an emergency or difficulty; expedient; stratagem
  3. a deceitful scheme or method; evasion; trick
  4. gearshift
    1. a group of people working in relay with another or other groups the night shift
    2. the regular work period of such a group
  5. a change in direction, as of the wind
    1. Now Rare a chemise, or woman's slip
    2. a loose dress that hangs straight with no waistline
  6. Now Chiefly Dial. a change of clothing
  7. Football a regrouping of offensive or defensive players before the ball is put in play
  8. Linguis. a phonetic change or series of changes that alters the system of sounds in a language
  9. Mining a fault or displacement, as in a vein
  10. Music a change in the position of the hand, as on the fingerboard of a violin
  11. Physics a change in the observed frequency of a wave, as of light or sound

Related Forms:

shift Idioms

make shift

to manage or do the best one can (with whatever means are at hand)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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