shift

Speech parts

1. shift - Noun

2. shift - Verb

Meaning

To divide; to distribute; to apportion.

To change the place of; to move or remove from one place to another; as, to shift a burden from one shoulder to another; to shift the blame.

To change the position of; to alter the bearings of; to turn; as, to shift the helm or sails.

To exchange for another of the same class; to remove and to put some similar thing in its place; to change; as, to shift the clothes; to shift the scenes.

To change the clothing of; -- used reflexively.

To put off or out of the way by some expedient.

The act of shifting.

The act of putting one thing in the place of another, or of changing the place of a thing; change; substitution.

Something frequently shifted; especially, a woman's under-garment; a chemise.

The change of one set of workmen for another; hence, a spell, or turn, of work; also, a set of workmen who work in turn with other sets; as, a night shift.

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

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

A change of the position of the hand on the finger board, in playing the violin.

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Phrases with the word

Derivatives

Examples

See me safe up: for in my coming down, I can shift for myself. Thomas More

I discovered that the most interesting music of all was made by simply lining the loops in unison, and letting them slowly shift out of phase with each other... Steve Reich

There is certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! As I have often found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position, and be bruised in a new place. Washington Irving

You must shift your sail with the wind. Italian Proverb

The winds of the heavens shift suddenly; so does human fate. Chinese Proverb

You cannot shift an old tree without it dying. Danish Proverb

Close letter words and terms