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. 1. to change position, direction, form, character, etc.
   2. to undergo phonetic change
2. to get along; manage to shift for oneself
3. to use tricky, evasive, or expedient methods
4. ☆ to change from one gear arrangement to another
5. in typing, to change from small letters, etc. to capitals, etc. by depressing a key (shift key)
6. 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
5. 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
6. a change in direction, as of the wind
7. 1. Now Rare a chemise, or woman's slip
   2. a loose dress that hangs straight with no waistline
8. Now Chiefly Dial. a change of clothing
9. ☆ Football a regrouping of offensive or defensive players before the ball is put in play
10. Linguis. a phonetic change or series of changes that alters the system of sounds in a language
11. Mining a fault or displacement, as in a vein
12. Music a change in the position of the hand, as on the fingerboard of a violin
13. Physics a change in the observed frequency of a wave, as of light or sound