| / English Dictionary |
SHIFT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of changing one thing or position for another
Example:
his switch on abortion cost him the election
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("shift" is a kind of...):
change (the action of changing something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shift"):
switcheroo (a sudden unexpected switch)
Derivation:
shift (move from one setting or context to another)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The act of moving from one place to another
Example:
his constant shifting disrupted the class
Synonyms:
shift; shifting
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("shift" is a kind of...):
motion; move; movement (the act of changing location from one place to another)
Derivation:
shift (move abruptly)
shift (change place or direction)
shift (move sideways or in an unsteady way)
shift (move very slightly)
shift (move around)
shifty (changing position or direction)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders without a waist
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("shift" is a kind of...):
dress; frock (a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A woman's sleeveless undergarment
Synonyms:
chemise; shift; shimmy; slip; teddy
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("shift" is a kind of...):
undergarment; unmentionable (a garment worn under other garments)
Meronyms (parts of "shift"):
shoulder strap; strap (a band that goes over the shoulder and supports a garment or bag)
Sense 5
Meaning:
The key on the typewriter keyboard that shifts from lower-case letters to upper-case letters
Synonyms:
shift; shift key
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("shift" is a kind of...):
key (a lever (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed)
Holonyms ("shift" is a part of...):
typewriter keyboard (a keyboard for manually entering characters to be printed)
Sense 6
Meaning:
A qualitative change
Synonyms:
shift; transformation; transmutation
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("shift" is a kind of...):
alteration; change; modification (an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shift"):
advance; betterment; improvement (a change for the better; progress in development)
population shift (a change in the relative numbers of the different groups of individuals making up a population)
pyrolysis (transformation of a substance produced by the action of heat)
sea change (a profound transformation)
sublimation ((chemistry) a change directly from the solid to the gaseous state without becoming liquid)
tin disease; tin pest; tin plague (the transformation of ordinary white tin into powdery grey tin at very cold temperatures)
changeover; conversion; transition (an event that results in a transformation)
degeneration; retrogression (passing from a more complex to a simpler biological form)
strengthening (becoming stronger)
weakening (becoming weaker)
Derivation:
shift (move from one setting or context to another)
shift (change in quality)
Sense 7
Meaning:
An event in which something is displaced without rotation
Synonyms:
displacement; shift
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Hypernyms ("shift" is a kind of...):
translation (a uniform movement without rotation)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shift"):
luxation (displacement or misalignment of a joint or organ)
amplitude ((physics) the maximum displacement of a periodic wave)
Derivation:
shift (make a shift in or exchange of)
shift (move and exchange for another)
shift (lay aside, abandon, or leave for another)
Sense 8
Meaning:
A crew of workers who work for a specific period of time
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("shift" is a kind of...):
crew; gang; work party (an organized group of workmen)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shift"):
day shift; day watch (workers who work during the day (as 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.))
evening shift (workers who work during the evening (as 4 p.m. to midnight))
graveyard shift; night shift (workers who work during the night (as midnight to 8 a.m.))
relay (a crew of workers who relieve another crew)
Holonyms ("shift" is a part of...):
hands; manpower; men; work force; workforce (the force of workers available)
Sense 9
Meaning:
(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other
Example:
he studied the faulting of the earth's crust
Synonyms:
break; fault; faulting; fracture; geological fault; shift
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("shift" is a kind of...):
cleft; crack; crevice; fissure; scissure (a long narrow opening)
Meronyms (parts of "shift"):
fault line ((geology) line determined by the intersection of a geological fault and the earth's surface)
Domain category:
geology (a science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shift"):
inclined fault (a geological fault in which one side is above the other)
strike-slip fault (a geological fault in which one of the adjacent surfaces appears to have moved horizontally)
Instance hyponyms:
Denali Fault (a major open geological fault in Alaska)
San Andreas Fault (a major geological fault in California; runs from San Diego to San Francisco; the source of serious earthquakes)
Sense 10
Meaning:
The time period during which you are at work
Synonyms:
duty period; shift; work shift
Classified under:
Nouns denoting time and temporal relations
Hypernyms ("shift" is a kind of...):
hours (a period of time assigned for work)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shift"):
split shift (a working shift divided into two periods of time with several hours in between)
graveyard shift; night shift (the work shift during the night (as midnight to 8 a.m.))
evening shift; swing shift (the work shift during the evening (as 4 p.m. to midnight))
day shift (the work shift during the day (as 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.))
watch (a period of time (4 or 2 hours) during which some of a ship's crew are on duty)
trick (a period of work or duty)
go; spell; tour; turn (a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else))
Holonyms ("shift" is a part of...):
workday; working day (the amount of time that a worker must work for an agreed daily wage)
II. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they shift ... he / she / it shifts
Past simple: shifted
Past participle: shifted
-ing form: shifting
Sense 1
Meaning:
Make a shift in or exchange of
Example:
First Joe led; then we switched
Synonyms:
change over; shift; switch
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "shift" is one way to...):
alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "shift"):
back (shift to a counterclockwise direction)
veer (shift to a clockwise direction)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Derivation:
shift (an event in which something is displaced without rotation)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Move and exchange for another
Example:
shift the date for our class reunion
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "shift" is one way to...):
exchange; interchange; replace; substitute (put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
shift (an event in which something is displaced without rotation)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Lay aside, abandon, or leave for another
Example:
The car changed lanes
Synonyms:
change; shift; switch
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Verb group:
change (change clothes; put on different clothes)
change; commute; convert; exchange (exchange or replace with another, usually of the same kind or category)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "shift"):
break (change directions suddenly)
cut (make an abrupt change of image or sound)
diphthongise; diphthongize (change from a simple vowel to a diphthong)
jump; leap (pass abruptly from one state or topic to another)
channel-surf; surf (switch channels, on television)
break (change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another)
shift (change gears)
transition (make or undergo a transition (from one state or system to another))
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Derivation:
shift (an event in which something is displaced without rotation)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Change gears
Example:
you have to shift when you go down a steep hill
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "shift" is one way to...):
change; shift; switch (lay aside, abandon, or leave for another)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
shifter (a mechanical device for engaging and disengaging gears)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Move from one setting or context to another
Example:
shift one's attention
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "shift" is one way to...):
alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "shift"):
transfer; transplant; transpose (transfer from one place or period to another)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
shift (the act of changing one thing or position for another)
shift (a qualitative change)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Change in quality
Example:
His tone shifted
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "shift" is one way to...):
change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Derivation:
shift (a qualitative change)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Change phonetically as part of a systematic historical change
Example:
Grimm showed how the consonants shifted
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "shift" is one way to...):
change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)
Domain category:
phonetics (the branch of acoustics concerned with speech processes including its production and perception and acoustic analysis)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Sense 8
Meaning:
Use a shift key on a keyboard
Example:
She could not shift so all her letters are written in lower case
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "shift" is one way to...):
type; typewrite (write by means of a keyboard with types)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Sense 9
Meaning:
Move abruptly
Example:
The ship suddenly lurched to the left
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "shift" is one way to...):
move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
shift (the act of moving from one place to another)
Sense 10
Meaning:
Change place or direction
Example:
Shift one's position
Synonyms:
dislodge; reposition; shift
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "shift" is one way to...):
displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "shift"):
beat down (dislodge from a position)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP
Derivation:
shift; shifting (the act of moving from one place to another)
Sense 11
Meaning:
Move sideways or in an unsteady way
Example:
The ship careened out of control
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "shift" is one way to...):
move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP
Derivation:
shift (the act of moving from one place to another)
Sense 12
Meaning:
Move very slightly
Example:
He shifted in his seat
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "shift" is one way to...):
move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Sentence example:
The crowds shift in the streets
Derivation:
shift; shifting (the act of moving from one place to another)
Sense 13
Meaning:
Move around
Example:
transfer the packet from his trouser pockets to a pocket in his jacket
Synonyms:
shift; transfer
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "shift" is one way to...):
displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "shift"):
transpose (transfer a quantity from one side of an equation to the other side reversing its sign, in order to maintain equality)
shunt (transfer to another track, of trains)
carry (transfer (a number, cipher, or remainder) to the next column or unit's place before or after, in addition or multiplication)
shuffle (move about, move back and forth)
transship (transfer for further transportation from one ship or conveyance to another)
bunker (transfer cargo from a ship to a warehouse)
carry forward; carry over (transfer from one time period to the next)
remove; transfer (shift the position or location of, as for business, legal, educational, or military purposes)
translocate (transfer (a chromosomal segment) to a new position)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP
Derivation:
shift (the act of moving from one place to another)
Context examples:
Alleyne followed close at her heels, with his mind in a whirl at this black welcome and sudden shifting of all his plans and hopes.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
And it is a great comfort to find that she is not a poor helpless creature, but can shift very well for herself.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
But here there was nothing to be shifted off in a wild speculation on the future.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Shifting from one opiate to another to maintain effectiveness in analgesia while minimizing the side-effect profile.
(Opioid Rotation, NCI Thesaurus)
Frame shift mutations typically result in a mutated protein product that is inactive.
(Frameshift Mutation Abnormality, NCI Thesaurus)
Ever her gaze shifted from the room to him and back again.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
A mutation occuring within the protein-coding region of a gene which results in a shift in the reading frame of the encoded protein.
(Frameshift Mutation, NCI Thesaurus)
No, no, let me shift for myself; and, perhaps, if I have very good luck, I may meet with another Mr. Collins in time.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
You have had a great deal more than ever I had, but I dare say I can make shift to test it.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
This work was repeated three or four times, and at every turn, the engine was so contrived, that the words shifted into new places, as the square bits of wood moved upside down.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
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