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

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

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

Derived forms: shiftings

See also: loose, unsteady, variable

Type of: abandon, alter, change, displace, exchange, interchange, modify, motion, move, movement, replace, sub [informal], substitute, type, typewrite

Encyclopedia: Shifting