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Book Glossary

shift

Dictionary definition · shift

noun

  1. an event in which something is displaced without rotation
  2. a qualitative change
  3. the time period during which you are at work
  4. the act of changing one thing or position for another"his switch on abortion cost him the election"
  5. the act of moving from one place to another"his constant shifting disrupted the class"
  6. (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other"they built it right over a geological fault"

verb

  1. make a shift in or exchange of"First Joe led; then we switched"
  2. change place or direction"Shift one's position"
  3. move around"transfer the packet from his trouser pockets to a pocket in his jacket"
  4. move very slightly"He shifted in his seat"
  5. move from one setting or context to another"shift the emphasis"
  6. change in quality"His tone shifted"

Similar words

displacementchange overswitchtransformationtransmutationdislodgerepositionduty periodwork shifttransfer

Source: Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).