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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024shift /ʃɪft/USA pronunciation v.
- to move from one place, person, etc., to another: [~ + object]Let's shift that display from this window to the next one.[no object]If the weight they are lifting shifts, it could tumble down on them.
- to put aside (ideas, etc.) and replace by others;
change or exchange: [~ + object]to shift ideas.[no object]to shift in one's thinking.
- Automotiveto change (gears) from one ratio to another in driving a motor vehicle: [no object]She shifted smoothly and drove away.[~ + object]He shifted gears clumsily.
- to manage to get along by oneself:[no object* usually: ~ + for + oneself]Can you shift for yourself while your parents are away?
n. [countable]
- a change from one place, position, etc., to another:a shift in the wind.
- a person's scheduled period of work:the night shift, from eleven at night until eight in the morning.
- a group of workers scheduled to work during such a period.
- Clothing
- a straight, loose-fitting dress.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024shift
(shift),USA pronunciation v.t.
- to put (something) aside and replace it by another or others;
change or exchange:to shift friends; to shift ideas.
- to transfer from one place, position, person, etc., to another:to shift the blame onto someone else.
- Automotiveto change (gears) from one ratio or arrangement to another.
- Linguisticsto change in a systematic way, esp. phonetically.
- Automotive shift gears. See gear (def. 11).
v.i.
- to move from one place, position, direction, etc., to another.
- to manage to get along or succeed by oneself.
- to get along by indirect methods;
use any expediency, trick, or evasion to get along or succeed:He shifted through life.
- Automotiveto change gears in driving an automobile.
- Linguisticsto undergo a systematic, esp. phonetic, change.
- Computingto press a shift key, as on a typewriter keyboard.
- [Archaic.]to change one's clothes.
n.
- a change or transfer from one place, position, direction, person, etc., to another:a shift in the wind.
- a person's scheduled period of work, esp. the portion of the day scheduled as a day's work when a shop, service, office, or industry operates continuously during both the day and night:She prefers the morning shift.
- a group of workers scheduled to work during such a period:The night shift reported.
- Sport[Baseball.]a notable repositioning by several fielders to the left or the right of their normal playing position, an occasional strategy against batters who usually hit the ball to the same side of the field.
- Automotivea gearshift.
- Clothing
- a straight, loose-fitting dress worn with or without a belt.
- a woman's chemise or slip.
- Sport[Football.]a lateral or backward movement from one position to another, usually by two or more offensive players just before the ball is put into play.
- Mininga dislocation of a seam or stratum;
fault.
- Music and Dancea change in the position of the left hand on the fingerboard in playing a stringed instrument.
- Linguistics
- a change or system of parallel changes that affects the sound structure of a language, as the series of related changes in the English vowel system from Middle English to Modern English.
- a change in the meaning or use of a word. Cf. functional shift.
- an expedient;
ingenious device.
- an evasion, artifice, or trick.
- change or substitution.
- Games[Bridge.]See shift bid.
- Agriculture(in crop rotation)
- any of successive crops.
- the tract of land used.
- an act or instance of using the shift key, as on a typewriter keyboard.
- bef. 1000; (verb, verbal) Middle English shiften to arrange, Old English sciftan; cognate with German schichten to arrange in order, Old Norse skipta to divide; (noun, nominal) Middle English: contrivance, start, derivative of the verb, verbal
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged substitute.
- 23.See corresponding entry in Unabridged contrivance, resource, resort.
- 24.See corresponding entry in Unabridged wile, ruse, subterfuge, stratagem.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
shift /ʃɪft/ vb - to move or cause to move from one place or position to another
- (transitive) to change for another or others
- to change (gear) in a motor vehicle
- (intransitive) (of a sound or set of sounds) to alter in a systematic way
- (intransitive) to provide for one's needs (esp in the phrase shift for oneself)
- to remove or be removed, esp with difficulty: no detergent can shift these stains
- (intransitive) slang to move quickly
- (transitive) to move (bits held in a store location) to the left or right
n - the act or an instance of shifting
- a group of workers who work for a specific period
- the period of time worked by such a group
- an expedient, contrivance, or artifice
- an underskirt or dress with little shaping
Etymology: Old English sciftan; related to Old Norse skipta to divide, Middle Low German schiften, to separateˈshifter n
'shift' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
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