shift

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A movement to do something, a beginning.

2. 2

   An act of shifting

   An act of shifting; a slight movement or change.

   • There was a shift in the political atmosphere.
   • c. 1620-1626, Henry Wotton, letter to Nicholas Pey My going to Oxford was not merely for shift of air.
   • The generational shift Mr. Obama once embodied is, in fact, well under way, but it will not change Washington as quickly — or as harmoniously — as a lot of voters once hoped.
3. 3

   A share, a portion assigned on division.

4. ›+ 38 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      A type of women's undergarment of dress length worn under dresses or skirts, a slip or…

      A type of women's undergarment of dress length worn under dresses or skirts, a slip or chemise.

      • Just last week she bought a new shift at the market.
      • No; without a gown, in a shift that was somewhat of the coarsest, and none of the cleanest, bedewed likewise with some odoriferous effluvia, the produce of the day's labour, with a pitchfork in her hand, Molly Seagrim approached.
   2. 5

      A simple straight-hanging, loose-fitting dress.

   3. 6

      A change of workers, now specifically a set group of workers or period of working time.

      • We'll work three shifts a day till the job's done.
      • Work commenced at 2.30 p.m. on Saturday and continued without break until 4 a.m. on Monday morning, in the course of which three shifts of upwards of 90 men each and three steam cranes were employed.
   4. 7

      The gear mechanism in a motor vehicle.

      • Does it come with a stick-shift?
   5. 8

      Alternative spelling of Shift (“a modifier button of computer keyboards”).

      • If you press shift-P, the preview display will change.
   6. 9

      A control code or character used to change between different character sets.

   7. 10

      A bit shift.

   8. 11

      An infield shift.

      • Teams often use a shift against this lefty.
   9. 12

      The act of kissing passionately.

      • She flicked her hair out of her eyes again and looked into yours as you put your hands on her waist. Then her tongue was in your mouth and yours was in hers. You were getting the shift. Ye were shifting.
      • [If] I went on dates with these two [alcohols], right, you're a deep meaningful conversation with this one, … but this one? A shift and a finger and maybe you'd go home, do you know what I mean?
   10. 13

       A contrivance, a device to try when other methods fail.

       • If I get down, and do not break my limbs, I'll find a thousand shifts to get away: As good to die and go, as die and stay.
   11. 14

       A trick, an artifice.

       • And if the boy have not a woman's gift To rain a shower of commanded tears, An onion will do well for such a shift
       • Reduced to pitiable shifts.
       • I'll find a thousand shifts to get away.
   12. 15

       The extent, or arrangement, of the overlapping of plank, brick, stones, etc., that are…

       The extent, or arrangement, of the overlapping of plank, brick, stones, etc., that are placed in courses so as to break joints.

   13. 16

       A breaking off and dislocation of a seam

       A breaking off and dislocation of a seam; a fault.

   14. 17

       A mutation in which the DNA or RNA from two different sources (such as viruses or…

       A mutation in which the DNA or RNA from two different sources (such as viruses or bacteria) combine.

       • This kind of change, called shift - or more memorably, 'viral sex' - tends to trigger a pandemic, because a radically different virus demands a radically different immune response, and that takes time to mobilise.
   15. 18

       In violin-playing, any position of the left hand except that nearest the nut.

   16. 19

       A period of time in which one's consciousness resides in another reality, usually…

       A period of time in which one's consciousness resides in another reality, usually achieved through meditation or other means.

   17. 20

       be done

       be done; ruined

   18. 21

       To move from one place to another

       To move from one place to another; to redistribute.

       • We'll have to shift these boxes to the downtown office.
       • But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea.
   19. 22

       To change in form or character

       To change in form or character; switch.

       • As a result, I shifted my approach to focus on group-generated activities and broadened the chronological time frame.
       • His voice shifted from song to whisper.
   20. 23

       To change position

       To change position; to move.

       • She shifted slightly in her seat.
       • His political stance shifted daily.
       • We were hoping he could shift himself to take care of the problem, but he couldn't be shifted.
   21. 24

       To change residence

       To change residence; to leave and live elsewhere.

       • We are shifting to America next month.
   22. 25

       To change (clothes, especially underwear)

       To change (clothes, especially underwear); to change the clothes of.

       • 'Tis very good to wash his hands and face often, to shift his clothes, to have fair linen about him, to be decently and comely attired […].
   23. 26

       To change (someone's) clothes

       To change (someone's) clothes; sometimes specifically, to change underwear.

       • As it were, to ride day and night; and […] not to have patience to shift me.
       • The first thing he did was to secure a convenient lodging at the inn where he dined; then he shifted himself, and according to the direction he had received, went to the house of Mrs. Gauntlet […].
   24. 27

       To change gears (in an automobile).

       • I crested the hill and shifted into fifth.
   25. 28

       To move the keys of a typewriter over in order to type capital letters or special…

       To move the keys of a typewriter over in order to type capital letters or special characters.

   26. 29

       To switch to a character entry mode for capital letters or special characters.

   27. 30

       To manipulate a binary number by moving all of its digits left or right

       To manipulate a binary number by moving all of its digits left or right; compare rotate.

       • Shifting 1001 to the left yields 10010; shifting it right yields 100.
   28. 31

       To remove (the first value from an array).

   29. 32

       To dispose of, remove.

       • How can I shift a grass stain?
   30. 33

       To hurry

       To hurry; to move quickly.

       • If you shift, you might make the 2:19.
       • Time is running out, so I renounce a spin on a Class 387 for a fast run to Paddington on another Class 800 - a shame as the weather was perfect for pictures. Even so, it's enjoyable - boy, can those trains shift under the wires.
   31. 34

       To engage in sexual petting with.

       • The question is what she's done to Waldron, said Eric. Look at him hiding in his locker there. Come on, spit it out. Did you shift her?
   32. 35

       To resort to expedients for accomplishing a purpose

       To resort to expedients for accomplishing a purpose; to cope, get by, manage, make do.

       • […] men in distress will look to themselves in the First Place, and leave their Companions to Shift as well as they can.
       • My Fellow-Slaves were […] as courteous to me as I could well-expect; and as they had Plantations of their own, they gave me […] such Victuals as they had; especially on dark Nights, and at such Times as I could not shift for myself.
   33. 36

       To practice indirect or evasive methods

       To practice indirect or evasive methods; to contrive.

       • But this I dare auow of all those Schoole-men, that though they were exceeding wittie, yet they better teach all their Followers to shift, then to resolue, by their distinctions.
   34. 37

       In violin-playing, to move the left hand from its original position next to the nut.

   35. 38

       To use meditation or other means to change the reality that one's consciousness resides…

       To use meditation or other means to change the reality that one's consciousness resides in.

       • I finally shifted to Hogwarts last night!
   36. 39

       To steal or kidnap.

   37. 40

       To crouch in game, especially if the shift key is pressed to initiate crouching.

   38. 41

       A modifier key whose main function is shifting between two or more functions of any of…

       A modifier key whose main function is shifting between two or more functions of any of certain other keys (usually by pressing Shift and the other button simultaneously).

The neighborhood

• neighborantigenic shift
• neighborblueshift
• neighborday shift
• neighborgraveyard shift
• neighborlocking shift
• neighbormake shift
• neighbornight shift
• neighborredshift
• neighborsplit shift
• neighborswing shift
• neighborwind shift