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What (who) is shift - definition
WIKIMEDIA DISAMBIGUATION PAGE
Shifting; SHIFT; Shift (disambiguation); Shifting (linguistics); Shift (album)
shift
To snog, neck, or make out.
I shifted Anna at the club last night. Big mistake.
I shifted Anna at the club last night. Big mistake.
shift
[??ft]
¦ verb
1. move or change or cause to move or change from one position to another.
move one's body slightly due to discomfort.
2. change the emphasis, direction, or focus of: she's shifting the blame on to me.
3. Brit. informal move quickly.
(shift oneself) move or rouse oneself.
remove (a stain).
sell (merchandise) quickly or in large quantities.
eat or drink hastily or in large amounts.
4. chiefly N. Amer. change gear.
5. archaic be evasive.
¦ noun
1. a slight change in position, direction, or tendency.
2. a key used to switch between two sets of characters or functions on a keyboard.
3. N. Amer. a gear lever or gear-changing mechanism.
4. Building the positioning of successive rows of bricks so that their ends do not coincide.
5. each of two or more periods in which different groups of workers do the same jobs in relay.
a group of people who work in this way.
6. a straight dress that hangs from the shoulders and is not fitted at the waist.
historical a long, loose undergarment.
7. archaic an ingenious or devious device or stratagem.
Phrases
make shift dated manage or contrive to do something.
shift for oneself manage alone as best one can.
shift one's ground change one's position in an argument.
Derivatives
shiftable adjective
shifter noun
Origin
OE sciftan 'arrange, divide, apportion' (also ME, 'change, replace'), of Gmc origin.
shift
(shifts, shifting, shifted)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If you shift something or if it shifts, it moves slightly.
He stopped, shifting his cane to his left hand...
He shifted from foot to foot...
The entire pile shifted and slid, thumping onto the floor.
...the squeak of his boots in the snow as he shifted his weight.
VERB: V n prep/adv, V prep/adv, V, V n
2.
If someone's opinion, a situation, or a policy shifts or is shifted, it changes slightly.
Attitudes to mental illness have shifted in recent years...
The emphasis should be shifted more towards Parliament.
VERB: V, be V-ed prep/adv
•
Shift is also a noun.
...a shift in government policy.
N-COUNT: usu N prep
3.
If someone shifts the responsibility or blame for something onto you, they unfairly make you responsible or make people blame you for it, instead of them.
It was a vain attempt to shift the responsibility for the murder to somebody else...
VERB: V n prep [disapproval]
4.
If a shop or company shifts goods, they sell goods that are difficult to sell. (BRIT)
Some suppliers were selling at a loss to shift stock.
VERB
5.
VERB
6.
If a group of factory workers, nurses, or other people work shifts, they work for a set period before being replaced by another group, so that there is always a group working. Each of these set periods is called a shift. You can also use shift to refer to a group of workers who work together on a particular shift.
His father worked shifts in a steel mill.
N-COUNT: oft n N
7.
see also shifting
Examples of use of shift
1. A positive shift from one side would cause a similar helpful shift on the other side.
2. He says that his shift is based on how fast he can earn SR100 in a shift.
3. The shift to high–speed Internet access is part of a broader shift to digital media in Britain.
4. Ramos said that a shift to a parliamentary shift via a constituent assembly could make another «people power» revolution unnecessary.
5. I‘m joining you on the night shift, on the day shift," Clinton said to loud applause and cheers.