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shift
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- pronunciation:
- shIft
- parts of speech:
- intransitive verb, transitive verb, noun
- features:
- Word Combinations (verb, noun), Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
intransitive verb |
| inflections: |
shifts, shifting, shifted |
| definition 1: |
to change position or direction, or to move from one place to another.
Bored with the lecture, the students shifted restlessly in their seats.His family shifted from town to town during the Depression.The photographer asked her to shift a little to the left.The burden of his elderly father's care shifted to him when his sister died.Public opinion seems to be shifting to the conservative side on this issue.The whole region is shifting toward solar power and away from nuclear.- synonyms:
- move
- similar words:
- dodge, interchange, relocate, sheer, stir, swerve, switch, tack, veer
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| definition 2: |
to get along without help (usu. fol. by "for").
She has always shifted for herself.- synonyms:
- cope, get along, make do, manage
- similar words:
- carry on, live, scrape by
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| definition 3: |
to change gears when driving a motor vehicle.
You'd better shift into a lower gear when you go down this hill.- similar words:
- downshift
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| related words: |
budge, change, chop, cut, divert, fleet, flit, reverse, stand, stir, transfer, turn, vary |
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| part of speech: |
transitive verb |
| definition 1: |
to remove or abandon and replace with another; change.
It's not always easy to shift another person's opinion.I think I'm going to shift my phone service.We shifted seats so we could see the screen better.- synonyms:
- change, exchange, switch
- similar words:
- commute, interchange, remove, replace, rotate, substitute, trade, transpose
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| definition 2: |
to switch or move from one place to another or toward a new direction; change the position of.
Her boss shifted her to a different machine.The election has shifted the balance of power in the congress.- synonyms:
- move, switch
- similar words:
- displace, rearrange, relocate, swing, transfer, turn
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| definition 3: |
to change (gears) from one position to another.
You'll have to learn how to shift with this new bike.- synonyms:
- change, switch
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| related words: |
alternate, budge, fleet, rotate, struggle, transport, trim, turn |
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| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition 1: |
a change from one person, location, direction, condition, or thing to another.
There was a shift in the wind.The guests' arrival brought a shift in her mood.- synonyms:
- change, switch
- similar words:
- movement, transfer, turn
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| definition 2: |
a regularly scheduled work period.
He's working the night shift this month. |
| definition 3: |
the workers on duty during a regularly scheduled period.
The morning shift came into work looking sleepy.- synonyms:
- crew
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| definition 4: |
the process or an instance of changing gears when driving a motor vehicle.
Every shift of the gears made the car jerk. |
| definition 5: |
a woman's dress that has no waistline, worn without a belt.
The shift was especially popular in the early sixties.- synonyms:
- chemise
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| definition 6: |
an ingenious maneuver, as to evade something or someone.
The police were fooled for a time by this clever shift.- synonyms:
- dodge, feint, ruse
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| related words: |
alteration, change, cut, dress, exchange, heave, jump, leap, passage, team, time, transition, turn |
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| derivation: |
shifting (adj.) |
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