shift
/ˈʃɪft/ verb B1- To move from one place to another; to redistribute. · We'll have to shift these boxes to the downtown office.
- To change in form or character; switch.
- To change position; to move. · She shifted slightly in her seat.· His political stance shifted daily.
- To change residence; to leave and live elsewhere. · We are shifting to America next month.
- To change gears (in an automobile). · I crested the hill and shifted into fifth.
- To move the keys of a typewriter over in order to type capital letters or special characters.
- To switch to a character entry mode for capital letters or special characters.
- To manipulate a binary number by moving all of its digits left or right; compare rotate. · Shifting 1001 to the left yields 10010; shifting it right yields 100.
He/she/it shifts · Past shifted · Past participle shifted · -ing form shifting
Verb forms
- Base form
- shift
- He/she/it
- shifts
- Past
- shifted
- Past participle
- shifted
- -ing form
- shifting
Phrasal verbs and expressions
From the library
There is but such a quantity of merit between them; just enough to make one good sort of man; and of late it has been shifting about pretty much.
A bridge spanned it midway and from there to its lower end, where an amber-hued belt of sand-hills shut it in from the dark blue gulf beyond, the water was a glory of many shifting hues--the most spiritual shadings of crocus and rose and ethereal green, with other elusive tintings for which no name has ever been found.
Anne felt her heart beat more quickly, and the horizons of her ambition shifted and broadened as if by magic.
This did not seem to encourage the witness at all: he kept shifting from one foot to the other, looking uneasily at the Queen, and in his confusion he bit a large piece out of his teacup instead of the bread-and-butter.
Other matches
Learn shift in real texts
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