shift

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

[edit] English

Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia

[edit] Etymology

Old English sciftan (arrange, organise), from Germanic *skiftanan. Cognate with Dutch schiften, German schichten, Norwegian skifte.

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Verb

Infinitive
to shift

Third person singular
shifts

Simple past
shifted

Past participle
shifted

Present participle
shifting

to shift (third-person singular simple present shifts, present participle shifting, simple past and past participle shifted)

  1. (transitive) To change, swap.
    His political stance shifted daily.
  2. (transitive) to move from one place to another; to redistribute.
    We'll have to shift these boxes to the downtown office.
  3. (intransitive) to change position.
    She shifted slightly in her seat.
  4. (intransitive) To change gears (in a car).
    I crested the hill and shifted into fifth.
  5. (transitive, computing) to remove the first value from an array.
  6. (transitive) to dispose of.
    How can I shift a grass stain?
  7. (intransitive) to hurry.
    If you shift, you might make the 2:19.
  8. (Irish, crude slang) to engage in sexual petting.

[edit] Translations

[edit] Noun

Singular
shift

Plural
shifts

shift (plural shifts)

  1. (historical) a type of women's undergarment, a slip
    Just last week she bought a new shift at the market.
  2. 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.
  3. an act of shifting; a slight movement or change
    There was a shift in the political atmosphere.
  4. (US) the gear mechanism in a motor vehicle
    Does it come with a stick-shift?
  5. a button on a keyboard, chiefly for switching between upper and lower case
    If you press shift-P, the preview display will change.
  6. (computing) a bit shift
  7. (baseball) The infield shift.
    Teams often use the shift against this lefty.

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Translations

Personal tools