shift

American  

[shift] / ʃɪft /

verb (used with object)

• shifts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shifted,
  past participle,  past
• shifting
  present participle

1. to put (something) aside and replace it by another or others; change or exchange.

   to shift friends;

   to shift ideas.

   Synonyms:

   substitute

2. to transfer from one place, position, person, etc., to another.

   to shift the blame onto someone else.

3. Automotive. to change (gears) from one ratio or arrangement to another.

4. Linguistics. to change in a systematic way, especially phonetically.

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verb (used without object)

• shifts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shifted,
  past participle,  past
• shifting
  present participle

1. to move from one place, position, direction, etc., to another.

2. to manage to get along or succeed by oneself.

3. to get along by indirect methods; use any expediency, trick, or evasion to get along or succeed.

   He shifted through life.

4. to change gears in driving an automobile.

5. Linguistics. to undergo a systematic, especially phonetic, change.

6. to press a shift key, as on a typewriter keyboard.

7. Archaic. to change one's clothes.

noun

• shifts
  plural

1. a change or transfer from one place, position, direction, person, etc., to another.

   a shift in the wind.

2. a person's scheduled period of work, especially 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.

3. a group of workers scheduled to work during such a period.

   The night shift reported.

4. 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.

5. Automotive. a gearshift.

6. Clothing.

   1. a straight, loose-fitting dress worn with or without a belt.

   2. a woman's chemise or slip.

7. 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.

8. Mining. a dislocation of a seam or stratum; fault.

9. Music. a change in the position of the left hand on the fingerboard in playing a stringed instrument.

10. Linguistics.

    1. 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.

    2. a change in the meaning or use of a word.

11. an expedient; ingenious device.

    Synonyms:

    resort, resource, contrivance

12. an evasion, artifice, or trick.

    Synonyms:

    stratagem, subterfuge, ruse, wile

13. change or substitution.

14. Bridge. shift bid.

15. Agriculture. (in crop rotation)

    1. any of successive crops.

    2. the tract of land used.

16. an act or instance of using the shift key, as on a typewriter keyboard.

idioms

1. shift gears. gear.

shift British  

/ ʃɪft /

verb

1. to move or cause to move from one place or position to another

2. (tr) to change for another or others

3. to change (gear) in a motor vehicle

4. (intr) (of a sound or set of sounds) to alter in a systematic way

5. (intr) to provide for one's needs (esp in the phrase shift for oneself )

6. (intr) to proceed by indirect or evasive methods

7. to remove or be removed, esp with difficulty

   no detergent can shift these stains

8. slang (intr) to move quickly

9. (tr) computing to move (bits held in a store location) to the left or right

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noun

1. the act or an instance of shifting

2. a group of workers who work for a specific period

3. the period of time worked by such a group

4. an expedient, contrivance, or artifice

5. the displacement of rocks, esp layers or seams in mining, at a geological fault

6. an underskirt or dress with little shaping

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• shifter
  noun
• shiftingness
  noun
• reshift
  verb
• transshift
  verb
• intershifting
  adjective
• unshifting
  adjective
• shiftingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• shifts
  plural

Participles

• shifting
  present
• shifted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• shift
  simple
• shifts
  simple
• have shifted
  perfect
• has shifted
  perfect
• am shifting
  progressive
• are shifting
  progressive
• is shifting
  progressive
• have been shifting
  perfect progressive
• has been shifting
  perfect progressive

Past

• shifted
  simple
• had shifted
  perfect
• was shifting
  progressive
• were shifting
  progressive
• had been shifting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will shift
  simple
• will have shifted
  perfect
• will be shifting
  progressive
• will have been shifting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of shift

First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb shiften “to arrange,” Old English sciftan; cognate with German schichten “to arrange in order,” Old Norse skipta “to divide”; noun derivative of the verb

Explanation

Shift the verb and shift the noun are very similar in meaning. A shift is a change in something or an adjustment in the way something is done. You can either make a shift (that's the noun), or you can just shift (that's the verb). What makes a shift different from, say, a change is that it implies some kind of movement; a sense that the thing that you're shifting is still the same thing, just moving in a different direction. For example, when you shift gears in a car you're simply moving from one gear to another. If you shift your focus, you're still focused, but the focus has moved. If the government shifts its policy, that policy, while different, is still a policy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shift shifts shifted shifting

The shift toward wealthier tourists has done little to quell anger from locals, who argue the problem is the number of tourists, not just the type.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

Cruz, for example, hasn’t become an A.I. opponent, by any means, but his remarks were a notable tone shift from his substantial work this Congress trying to limit states’ ability to control the technology.

From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2026

The shift begins in early childhood, when children may first hear the date amid adult conversation or catch a newsflash.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

The Fed recently pursued a significant hiking cycle between 2022 and 2024, interest rates generally remain high and it would not be a sudden shift in expectations, he noted.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

No scraps of paper like there were during my last shift when we were warned to keep our lockers tidy.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

The language used by the technology’s promoters shifts when discussion turns to cyberattacks, hacks and other crimes.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

The changes represent some of the biggest shifts in aviation security in decades and likely stem from improved technology rather than a decline in standards, an aviation expert told the BBC.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Generation Z and young millennials are navigating major shifts in the economy that have made it harder to build wealth the way Americans did in the past.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

The shifts that occur, not just in time but in physical space, are linked to the tectonic movement in the play’s emotional ground.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

The streets of New Orleans are quiet and lined with rows of neat houses, manicured lawns, and flowered gardens; it all whizzes past as the night shifts to dawn.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Trust between the sides is low, and there is no sign that Moscow or Kyiv have shifted their positions.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

In recent months, attitudes around postpartum depression have shifted, and the condition has been discussed more urgently than perhaps ever before.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Braw added that Russia has shifted the focus of its gray-zone attacks toward countries like Germany and the U.K., which are contributing more to Ukraine’s defense.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

“The investor mindset shifted, and now sentiment shifts,” said Nationwide’s Hackett, pointing to heightened backlash against the data-center build-out from politicians ahead of the midterm elections, as well as from average voters.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

I shifted my weight, and stalks broke with a satisfying crunch.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

While paintings are still taken, they're harder to sell, so around 10 years ago, thieves began shifting to goods that are easier to get rid of, Brand says.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

"I headed out this way hoping things might be better out in the rural areas," he said, his young granddaughter shifting impatiently in the back seat.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

Malthusian models and predator-prey equations, for example, have been used to examine the spread of Australian rabbits and the shifting populations of Canadian lynxes and snowshoe hares.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

The trend is driven by insurers shifting more costs to patients, leaving hospitals struggling to collect unpaid bills after procedures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

This was one of the main shipping routes between the eastern and western Mediterranean, and it was also an extremely dangerous body of water, filled with shoals, sandbars, and suddenly shifting currents.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Related Words

• alter
• change
• deviate
• drift
• move
• relocate
• remove
• ship
• shuffle
• transfer
• turn
• vary
• veer