shift

[ shift ]

/ ʃɪft /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: shift / shifted / shifting / shifts on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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.

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

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

verb (used without object)

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.

to change gears in driving an automobile.

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

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

Archaic. to change one's clothes.

noun

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, 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.

a group of workers scheduled to work during such a period: The night shift reported.

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.

Automotive. a gearshift.

Clothing.

a straight, loose-fitting dress worn with or without a belt.
a woman's chemise or slip.

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.

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

Music. a 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.Compare functional shift.

an expedient; ingenious device.

an evasion, artifice, or trick.

change or substitution.

Bridge. 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR shift

1 substitute.

22 contrivance, resource, resort.

23 wile, ruse, subterfuge, stratagem.

See synonyms for shift on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Idioms about shift

shift gears. gear (def. 19).

Origin of shift

before 1000; (v.) Middle English shiften to arrange, Old English sciftan; cognate with German schichten to arrange in order, Old Norse skipta to divide; (noun) Middle English: contrivance, start, derivative of the v.

OTHER WORDS FROM shift

shift·ing·ly, adverbshift·ing·ness, nounin·ter·shift·ing, adjectivere·shift, verb

trans·shift, verbun·shift·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH shift

shift , shrift

Words nearby shift

shield-tailed snake, shield volcano, shieling, shier, shiest, shift, shiftable, shift bid, shifter, shift for oneself, shifting cultivation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use shift in a sentence

An emotionally wrenching marathon of hospital shifts followed.
The new Covid-19 case surge in Europe, explained|Julia Belluz|September 17, 2020|Vox
These shifts stand to benefit Democrats more than they benefit Republicans.
More And More Americans Aren’t Religious. Why Are Democrats Ignoring These Voters?|Daniel Cox|September 17, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Volkswagen AG is making its green-bond debut, about two weeks after Daimler AG, as automakers tap socially responsible investors to help pay for the hugely expensive shift to electric vehicles.
Volkswagen is the latest carmaker to tap the red-hot green-bond market to fund its EV ambitions|Bernhard Warner|September 16, 2020|Fortune
The five-month quarantine has caused a digital shift across our way of life, leaving people to engage with the Internet, social media and technology even more—and shop.
Here’s Why Everyone Can’t Get Enough Telfar|Hope Wright|September 11, 2020|Essence.com

Climate models generally show shifts in these broad patterns, though it’s not exactly clear how much the changes might translate to hurricanes themselves.
Slow, meandering hurricanes are often more dangerous—and they’re getting more common|Greta Moran|September 9, 2020|Popular-Science
Do you think that as we get older our thoughts shift to the more abstract, the music, than the definite, the lyrics?
Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As Sutton shows in his book, the important shift took place gradually, from the end of the Civil War until World War II.
The Evangelical Apocalypse Is All Your Fault|Jay Michaelson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Most other social justice movements are seeking some shift of power and money.
The Real Story Behind the Fight for Marriage Equality|E.J. Graff|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Another beautiful Eminor number, with a nice shift up to the major for the chorus.
Yes, I Like Christmas Music. Stop Laughing.|Michael Tomasky|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And Asians also showed a shift toward the GOP in the mid-terms.
Time to Bring Back the Truman Democrats|Joel Kotkin|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The question was put rather testily and caused the other to shift uncomfortably before making answer.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
The night shift had clocked in over an hour ago, and there should be no passing through the gate for at least six hours.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
So that we were compelled to remain all the next day at the anchorage to shift them.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King
Then suddenly he would shift shotgun for rifle and come home with a bearskin in the wagon.
Scattergood Baines|Clarence Budington Kelland
The iris of the human eye dilates and contracts with every shift of illumination, and the Time Observatory had an iris too.
The Man from Time|Frank Belknap Long

British Dictionary definitions for shift

shift

/ (ʃɪft) /

verb

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

(tr) to change for another or others

to change (gear) in a motor vehicle

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

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

(intr) to proceed by indirect or evasive methods

to remove or be removed, esp with difficultyno detergent can shift these stains

(intr) slang to move quickly

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

noun

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

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

an underskirt or dress with little shaping

Derived forms of shift

shifter, noun

Word Origin for shift

Old English sciftan; related to Old Norse skipta to divide, Middle Low German schiften, to separate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for shift

shift

[ shĭft ]

To move or transfer from one place or position to another.

To alter position or place.

To exchange one thing for another of the same type or class.

A change from one person or configuration to another; a substitution.

A change in position.

shift

OTHER WORDS FOR shift

Idioms about shift

Origin of shift

OTHER WORDS FROM shift

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH shift

Words nearby shift

Words related to shift

How to use shift in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shift

Derived forms of shift

Word Origin for shift

Medical definitions for shift