shift

Meanings

• an event in which something is displaced without rotation
• a qualitative change
• the time period during which you are at work
• the act of changing one thing or position for another
• the act of moving from one place to another
  • "his constant shifting disrupted the class"
• (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other
• a crew of workers who work for a specific period of time
• the key on the typewriter keyboard that shifts from lower-case letters to upper-case letters
• a woman's sleeveless undergarment
• a loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders without a waist
• make a shift in or exchange of
• change place or direction
  • "Shift one's position"
• move around
• move very slightly
  • "He shifted in his seat"
• move from one setting or context to another
  • "shift the emphasis"
  • "shift one's attention"
• change in quality
  • "His tone shifted"
• move and exchange for another
  • "shift the date for our class reunion"
• move sideways or in an unsteady way
• move abruptly
• use a shift key on a keyboard
  • "She could not shift so all her letters are written in lower case"
• change phonetically as part of a systematic historical change
  • "Grimm showed how the consonants shifted"
• change gears
  • "you have to shift when you go down a steep hill"
• lay aside, abandon, or leave for another

Synonyms

agitate, break, budge, careen, change, change over, chemise, dislodge, displacement, duty period, fault, faulting, fracture, geological fault, lurch, pitch, reposition, sack, shift key, shifting, shimmy, slip, stir, switch, switching, teddy, tilt, transfer, transformation, transmutation, wobble, work shift