shift

shift¹ W3 [ʃıft] v

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1¦(move)¦

2¦(change attention)¦

3¦(change opinion)¦

4 shift the blame/responsibility (onto somebody)

5¦(costs/spending)¦

6¦(dirt/marks)¦

7¦(in a car)¦

8¦(sell)¦

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[: Old English; Origin: sciftan 'to divide, arrange']

1.) ¦(MOVE)¦

a) [I and T]

to move from one place or position to another, or make something do this

▪ Joe listened, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another.

▪ She shifted her gaze from me to Bobby.

b) [T] BrE informal to move something, especially by picking it up and carrying it

▪ Give me a hand to shift these chairs.

2.) ¦(CHANGE ATTENTION)¦ [T]

to change a situation, discussion etc by giving special attention to one idea or subject instead of to a previous one

shift sth away/onto/from etc

▪ The White House hopes to shift the media's attention away from foreign policy issues.

shifts attention/emphasis/focus

▪ In this stage of a rape case, the focus often shifts onto the victim and her conduct.

shift gear

AmE (=change what you are doing)

▪ It's hard to shift gear when you come home after a busy day at work.

3.) ¦(CHANGE OPINION)¦ [I and T]

if someone's opinions, beliefs etc shift, they change

▪ Public opinion was beginning to shift to the right (=become more right-wing) .

▪ shifting attitudes towards marriage

▪ He refused to shift his ground (=change his opinion) .

4.) shift the blame/responsibility (onto sb)

to make someone else responsible for something, especially for something bad that has happened

▪ It was a clear attempt to shift the responsibility for the crime onto the victim.

5.) ¦(COSTS/SPENDING)¦ [T always + adverb/preposition]

to change the way that money is paid or spent

▪ the need to shift more resources towards reducing poverty

6.) ¦(DIRT/MARKS)¦ [T]

BrE to remove dirt or marks from a surface or piece of clothing

▪ a new washing powder that will shift any stain

7.) ¦(IN A CAR)¦ [I and T]

especially American English to change the ↑gears when you are driving

British Equivalent: change

▪ I shifted into second gear.

8.) ¦(SELL)¦ [T]

BrE informal to sell a product, especially a lot of it

▪ The store shifted over 1,000 copies of the book last week.

shift ²

shift² n

1.) a change in the way people think about something, in the way something is done etc

shift from/to

▪ the shift from one type of economic system to another

shift in

▪ an important shift in policy

▪ a marked shift (=noticeable change) in attitudes towards women

2.)

a) if workers in a factory, hospital etc work shifts, they work for a particular period of time during the day or night, and are then replaced by others, so that there are always people working

do/work a (10/12/24 etc hour) shift

▪ Dave had to work a 12-hour shift yesterday.

▪ I work shifts.

night/day etc shift

▪ The thought of working night shifts put her off becoming a nurse.

early/late shift

▪ I'm on the early shift tomorrow.

shift work/worker/working

▪ people who do shift work

▪ A shift system has been introduced.

b) the workers who work during one of these periods

night/day/early/late shift

▪ before the early shift goes off duty

3.) a ↑shift key

▪ To run the spellchecker, press SHIFT and F7.

4.) a simple straight loose-fitting woman's dress