Adjacent Words

Shift definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SHIFT, v.i.
1. To move; to change place or position. Vegetables are not able to shift and seek nutriment.
2. To change its direction; to vary; as, the wind shifted from south to west.
3. To change; to give place to other things.
4. To change clothes particularly the under garment or chemise.
5. To resort to expedients for a livelihood, or for accomplishing a purpose; to move from one thing to another, and to seize one expedient when anohter fails.
Men in distress will look to themselves, and leave their companions to shift as well as they can. L'Estrange.
6. To practice indirect methods.
7. To seek methods of safety.
Nature teaches every creature how to shift for itself in cases of danger.
L'Estrange.
8. To change place; as, cargo shifts from one side to the other.
SHIFT, v.t.
1. To change; to alter; as, to shift the scenes.
2. To transfer from one place or position to another; as, shift the helm; shift the sails.
3. To put out of the way by some expedient.
I shifted him away.
4. To change, as clothes; as, to shift a coat.
5. To dress in fresh clothes. Let him have time to shift himself.
To shift about, to turn quite round, to a contrary side or opposite point.
To shift off, to delay; to defer; as, to shift off the duteis of religion.
2. To put away; to disengage or disencumber one's self, as of a burden or inconvenience.
SHIFT, n.
1. A change; a turning from one thing to another; hence, an expedient tried in difficulty; one thing tried when another fails.
I'll find a thousand shifts to get away. Shak.
2. In a bad sense, mean refuge; last resource.
For little soul on little shifts rely. Dryden.
3. Fraud; artifice; expedient to effect a bad purpose; or an evasion; a trick to escape detection or evil.
4. A woman's under garment; a chemise.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an event in which something is displaced without rotation [syn: shift, displacement]
2: a qualitative change [syn: transformation, transmutation, shift]
3: the time period during which you are at work [syn: shift, work shift, duty period]
4: the act of changing one thing or position for another; "his switch on abortion cost him the election" [syn: switch, switching, shift]
5: the act of moving from one place to another; "his constant shifting disrupted the class" [syn: shift, shifting]
6: (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"; "he studied the faulting of the earth's crust" [syn: fault, faulting, geological fault, shift, fracture, break]
7: a crew of workers who work for a specific period of time
8: the key on the typewriter keyboard that shifts from lower- case letters to upper-case letters [syn: shift key, shift]
9: a woman's sleeveless undergarment [syn: chemise, shimmy, shift, slip, teddy]
10: a loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders without a waist [syn: chemise, sack, shift] v
1: make a shift in or exchange of; "First Joe led; then we switched" [syn: switch, change over, shift]
2: change place or direction; "Shift one's position" [syn: shift, dislodge, reposition]
3: move around; "transfer the packet from his trouser pockets to a pocket in his jacket" [syn: transfer, shift]
4: move very slightly; "He shifted in his seat" [syn: stir, shift, budge, agitate]
5: move from one setting or context to another; "shift the emphasis"; "shift one's attention"
6: change in quality; "His tone shifted"
7: move and exchange for another; "shift the date for our class reunion"
8: move sideways or in an unsteady way; "The ship careened out of control" [syn: careen, wobble, shift, tilt]
9: move abruptly; "The ship suddenly lurched to the left" [syn: lurch, pitch, shift]
10: use a shift key on a keyboard; "She could not shift so all her letters are written in lower case"
11: change phonetically as part of a systematic historical change; "Grimm showed how the consonants shifted"
12: change gears; "you have to shift when you go down a steep hill"
13: lay aside, abandon, or leave for another; "switch to a different brand of beer"; "She switched psychiatrists"; "The car changed lanes" [syn: switch, shift, change]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English, from Old English sciftan to divide, arrange; akin to Old Norse skipa to arrange, assign Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. to exchange for or replace by another ; change 2. a. to change the place, position, or direction of ; move b. to make a change in (place) 3. to change phonetically intransitive verb 1. a. to change place or position b. to change direction <the wind shifted> c. to change gears d. to depress the shift key (as on a typewriter) 2. a. to assume responsibility <had to shift for themselves> b. to resort to expedients 3. a. to go through a change <she shifted in her approach> b. to change one's clothes c. to become changed phonetically • shiftable adjective II. noun Date: 1523 1. a. a means or device for effecting an end b. (1) a deceitful or underhand scheme ; dodge (2) an effort or expedient exerted or tried in difficult circumstances ; extremity <was put to hard shifts for a living — Benjamin Franklin> 2. a. chiefly dialect a change of clothes b. (1) chiefly dialect shirt (2) a woman's slip or chemise (3) a usually loose-fitting or semifitted dress 3. a. a change in direction <a shift in the wind> b. a change in emphasis, judgment, or attitude 4. a. a group of people who work or occupy themselves in turn with other groups b. (1) a change of one group of people (as workers) for another in regular alternation (2) a scheduled period of work or duty <works the night shift> 5. a change in place or position: as a. a change in the position of the hand on a fingerboard (as of a violin) b. (1) fault 5 (2) the relative displacement of rock masses on opposite sides of a fault or fault zone c. (1) a simultaneous change of position in football by two or more players from one side of the line to the other (2) a change of positions made by one or more players in baseball to provide better defense against a particular hitter d. a change in frequency resulting in a change in position of a spectral line or band — compare Doppler effect e. a movement of bits in a computer register a specified number of places to the right or left 6. a removal from one person or thing to another ; transfer 7. consonant shift 8. a bid in bridge in a suit other than the suit one's partner has bid — compare jump 9. gearshift Synonyms: see resource

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 intr. & tr. change or move or cause to change or move from one position to another. 2 tr. remove, esp. with effort (washing won't shift the stains). 3 sl. a intr. hurry (we'll have to shift!). b tr. consume (food or drink) hastily or in bulk. c tr. sell (esp. dubious goods). 4 intr. contrive or manage as best one can. 5 US a tr. change (gear) in a vehicle. b intr. change gear. 6 intr. (of cargo) get shaken out of place. 7 intr. archaic be evasive or indirect. --n. 1 a the act or an instance of shifting. b the substitution of one thing for another; a rotation. 2 a a relay of workers (the night shift). b the time for which they work (an eight-hour shift). 3 a a device, stratagem, or expedient. b a dodge, trick, or evasion. 4 a a woman's straight unwaisted dress. b archaic a loose-fitting undergarment. 5 a displacement of spectral lines (see also red shift). 6 (also sound shift) a systematic change in pronunciation as a language evolves. 7 a key on a keyboard used to switch between lower and upper case etc. 8 Bridge a a change of suit in bidding. b US a change of suit in play. 9 the positioning of successive rows of bricks so that their ends do not coincide. 10 US a a gear lever in a motor vehicle. b a mechanism for this. Phrases and idioms: make shift manage or contrive; get along somehow (made shift without it). shift for oneself rely on one's own efforts. shift one's ground take up a new position in an argument etc. shift off get rid of (responsibility etc.) to another. Derivatives: shiftable adj. shifter n. Etymology: OE sciftan arrange, divide, etc., f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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[=i]fa 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. --Chaucer. 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]. --Piers Plowman. Pare saffron between the two St. Mary's days, Or set or go shift it that knowest the ways. --Tusser. 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. --Sir W. Raleigh. 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. --Shak. 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. --Shak. 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. --Swift.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. --Sir H. Wotton. (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. --Shak. Little souls on little shifts rely. --Dryden. 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. --Milton.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(shifts, shifting, shifted) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you shift something or if it shifts, it moves slightly. He stopped, shifting his cane to his left hand... He shifted from foot to foot... The entire pile shifted and slid, thumping onto the floor. ...the squeak of his boots in the snow as he shifted his weight. VERB: V n prep/adv, V prep/adv, V, V n 2. If someone's opinion, a situation, or a policy shifts or is shifted, it changes slightly. Attitudes to mental illness have shifted in recent years... The emphasis should be shifted more towards Parliament. VERB: V, be V-ed prep/adv • Shift is also a noun. ...a shift in government policy. N-COUNT: usu N prep 3. If someone shifts the responsibility or blame for something onto you, they unfairly make you responsible or make people blame you for it, instead of them. It was a vain attempt to shift the responsibility for the murder to somebody else... VERB: V n prep [disapproval] 4. If a shop or company shifts goods, they sell goods that are difficult to sell. (BRIT) Some suppliers were selling at a loss to shift stock. VERB 5. If you shift gears in a car, you put the car into a different gear. (AM; in BRIT, use change) VERB 6. If a group of factory workers, nurses, or other people work shifts, they work for a set period before being replaced by another group, so that there is always a group working. Each of these set periods is called a shift. You can also use shift to refer to a group of workers who work together on a particular shift. His father worked shifts in a steel mill. N-COUNT: oft n N 7. see also shifting

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Change, alter, move. II. v. n. 1. Move, change place, change about, remove. 2. Alter, change. 3. Change, vary, veer, chop, alter. 4. Contrive, manage, plan, scheme, shuffle, devise ways and means. III. n. 1. Change. 2. Expedient, contrivance, resort, resource, means. 3. Evasion, artifice, fraud, trick, stratagem, subterfuge, mask, wile, craft, device, mean refuge, chicane, chicanery, artful contrivance, ruse. 4. Chemise, smock.

Moby Thesaurus

Doppler effect, aberrancy, aberration, about ship, about the bush, about-face, accommodation, action, ad hoc measure, adaptation, adjustment, advance, alchemy, alter, alteration, alternate, ameliorate, amelioration, amotion, anchor watch, answer, apostasy, around the bush, art, artful dodge, artifice, ascend, assimilate to, assimilation, assumption, back, back and fill, back up, bag of tricks, be changed, be converted into, be renewed, bear away, bear off, bear to starboard, beat, beat about, beat around, become, becoming, beg the question, bend, betterment, bias, bicker, bit, blind, blouse, bluff, bodice, boggle, bosey, bottom out, bout, box off, branch off, branching off, break, bring about, bring round, bring to, budge, cadre, caftan, cant, cant round, carry away, carry off, cart away, cast, cast about, catch, cavil, change, change course, change into, change of heart, change over, change place, change the bearing, change the heading, change-over, changeableness, changeover, cheat, checker, chemise, chicanery, chop, chop and change, choplogic, chouse, circle, circuitousness, climb, come about, come around, come round, conspiracy, constructive change, continuity, contrivance, conversion, convert, corner, corps, corsage, countermove, coup, course of action, craft, crew, crook, curve, curve-ball, cute trick, day shift, deceit, deceive, declination, defection, deflection, degenerate, degeneration, degenerative change, delocalization, delocalize, demarche, depart from, departure, deracination, dernier ressort, descend, design, deteriorate, deterioration, detour, deviance, deviancy, deviate, deviation, device, deviousness, dickey, difference, digress, digression, dirty deal, dirty trick, disarrangement, disarticulation, discontinuity, discursion, disjointing, dislocation, dislodge, displace, displacement, dither, divagate, divagation, divaricate, divarication, diverge, divergence, diversification, diversify, diversion, diversity, do over, dodge, dogleg, dogwatch, double, double a point, drift, drifting, duck, ebb, ebb and flow, edge, effort, equivocate, errantry, evade, evade the issue, excursion, excursus, exorbitation, expediency, expedient, fakement, fast deal, feint, fence, fetch, fetch about, ficelle, finesse, fitting, flip-flop, flop, flounder, flow, fluctuate, forcible shift, full time, gambit, game, gang, get over, gimmick, go, go about, go around, go round, go sideways, go through phases, googly, gradual change, graveyard shift, grift, group, growth, gybe, gyrate, hairpin, half time, haul around, heave round, hedge, heel, hem and haw, heterotopia, hocus-pocus, hours, improve, improvement, improvisation, incoherence, indirection, intrigue, jibe, jibe all standing, joker, juggle, jugglery, jury-rig, jury-rigged expedient, knavery, lapse, last expedient, last resort, last shift, lay aside, lie, linen, little game, lobster trick, look after, luxation, make, make do, make it, make over, makeshift, manage, maneuver, manhandle, market, means, measure, meliorate, melioration, miss stays, mitigate, mitigation, modification, modulate, modulation, mount, move, move over, movement, moving, mutate, muu-muu, mystify, naturalization, naturalize, night shift, nitpick, obliquity, obscure, oscillate, overthrow, overtime, palter, parry, part time, party, pass, passage, pendulate, pererration, pick nits, pis aller, plot, ploy, plunge, ply, prevaricate, progress, pull away, pull back, pussyfoot, put about, put aside, put back, put off, qualification, quibble, racket, radical change, rambling, re-creation, re-formation, realignment, rearrange, recoil, reconversion, reconvert, recourse, red herring, red shift, redesign, reduce to, reduction, reform, reformation, refuge, regress, relay, relocate, relocation, remaking, remotion, removal, remove, removement, render, renewal, reshaping, resolution, resolve into, resort, resource, restructuring, retrogress, reversal, reverse, revival, revive, revivification, revolution, ring the changes, ripping out, rise, rotate, round a point, run, ruse, schedule, scheme, scurvy trick, seesaw, sell, send, set aside, shake-up, sheer, sheer off, shift about, shift off, shifting, shifting course, shifting path, shilly-shally, shirt, shrink, shuffle, shunt, shy, shy away, shy off, side, sidestep, sink, skew, slant, sleight, sleight of hand, sleight-of-hand trick, slew, smock, soar, solution, spin, split hairs, split schedule, split shift, squad, staff, stagger, step, step aside, stint, stir, stopgap, stratagem, strategy, straying, stream, stroke, stroke of policy, subside, substitute, subterfuge, succeed, sudden change, sunrise watch, sway, sweep, swerve, swerving, swing, swing round, swing shift, swing the stern, swinging, switch, switch over, switch-over, tack, tactic, take a turn, take away, take care of, team, teeter, teeter-totter, temporary expedient, tergiversate, throw about, time, total change, totter, tour, tour of duty, transfer, transform, transformation, transit, transition, transpose, travel, trend, trick, trickery, trump, turn, turn aside, turn back, turn into, turn of work, turn the corner, turnabout, turning, turning into, twist, twist and turn, undergo a change, unhinging, unjointing, upheaval, uprooting, vacillate, variation, variety, vary, veer, violent change, volte-face, waist, wandering, wane, ward off, warp, watch, waver, wax and wane, wear, wear ship, whirl, wile, wily device, wind, wobble, work shift, workers, working hypothesis, working proposition, worsen, worsening, yaw, zigzag