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1. Continuously varying
   "taffeta with shifting colours"
    
2. Changing position or direction
   "he drifted into the shifting crowd"; "their nervous shifting glances"
   - shifty
    
3. (of soil) unstable
   "shifting sands"
   - unfirm

1. The act of moving from one place to another
   "his constant shifting disrupted the class"
   - shift

1. Make a shift in or exchange of
   "First Joe led; then we shifted"
   - switch, change over
    
2. Change place or direction
   "Shift one's position"
   - dislodge, reposition
    
3. Move around
   "shift the packet from his trouser pockets to a pocket in his jacket"
   - transfer
    
4. Move very slightly
   "He shifted in his seat"
   - stir, budge, agitate
    
5. Move from one setting or context to another
   "shift the emphasis"; "shift one's attention"
    
6. Change in quality
   "His tone shifted"
    
7. Move and exchange for another
   "shift the date for our class reunion"
    
8. Move sideways or in an unsteady way
   "The ship shifted out of control"
   - careen, wobble, tilt
    
9. Move abruptly
   "The ship suddenly shifted to the left"
   - lurch, pitch
    
10. Use a shift key on a keyboard
    "She could not shift so all her letters are written in lower case"
     
11. Change phonetically as part of a systematic historical change
    "Grimm showed how the consonants shifted"
     
12. [N. Amer] Change gears
    "you have to shift when you go down a steep hill"
     
13. Lay aside, abandon, or leave for another
    "shift to a different brand of beer"
    - switch, change

Derived forms: shiftings

See also: loose, shifter [N. Amer], unsteady, variable

Type of: alter, change, displace, exchange, interchange, modify, motion, move, movement, replace, substitute, type, typewrite

Encyclopedia: Shift