shift

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the act of changing one thing or position for another

   The shift from hunting and gathering to an agricultural based society was an important step on the road to modern organized production.

2. 2
   noun

   the act of moving from one place to another

   The student's constant shifts disrupted the class.

3. 3
   noun

   the key on the typewriter keyboard that shifts from lower-case letters to upper-case letters

   MY SHIFT BUTTON IS BROKEN AND NOW EVERYONE THINKS I AM YELLING AT THEM.

4. 4
   noun

   a crew of workers who work for a specific period of time

   No one wanted to be on the overnight shift, even though it paid better.

5. 5
   verb

   move and exchange for another

   shift the date for our class reunion

6. 6
   verb

   change gears

   You have to shift down when you go up a steep hill.

7. 7
   verb

   move from one setting or context to another

   shift the emphasis

8. 8
   verb

   change in quality

   The speaker's tone shifted as the speech turned to more serious matters.

Etymology

The noun is from Middle English schyft, shyffte. Cognate with German Schicht (“layer, shift”). The verb is from Middle English schiften, from Old English sċiftan (“to divide, separate into shares; appoint, ordain; arrange, organise”), from Proto-Germanic *skiftijaną, *skiptijaną, from earlier *skipatjaną (“to organise, put in order”), from Proto-Indo-European *skeyb- (“to separate, divide, part”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, divide, separate, part”). Cognate with Scots schift, skift (“to shift”), West Frisian skifte, skiftsje (“to sort”), Dutch schiften (“to sort, screen, winnow,…