shift

Universal Words verb, noun verb move 1 ~ (sth) (from...) (to...) to move, or move sth, from one position or place to another: [V] The action of the novel shifts from Paris to London. * Lydia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. * I shifted uneasily under his gaze. * [VN] He shifted his gaze from the child to her. * Could you help me shift some furniture? * She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. 2 [V, VN] ~ (yourself) (BrE, informal) to move quickly SYNHURRY situation / opinion / policy 3 [V] ~ (from...) (to / towards / toward...) (of a situation, an opinion, a policy etc.) to change from one state, position, etc. to another: Public attitudes towards marriage have shifted over the past 50 years. * The balance of power shifted away from workers towards employers. * Her sympathies gradually shifted to the side of the protesters. 4 [VN] ~ sth (from...) (to / towards / toward...) to change your opinion of or attitude towards sth, or change the way that you do sth: We need to shift the focus of this debate. * The new policy shifted the emphasis away from fighting inflation. responsibility 5 [VN] ~ responsibility / blame (for sth) (onto sb) to make sb else responsible for sth you should do or sth bad that you have done: He tried to shift the blame for his mistakes onto his colleagues. remove mark 6 [VN] to remove sth such as a dirty mark: a detergent that shifts even the most stubborn stains sell goods 7 [VN] to sell goods, especially goods that are difficult to sell: They cut prices drastically to try and shift stock. in vehicle 8 [V] (AmE) to change the GEARS when you are driving a vehicle: to shift into second gear IDIOMS shift your ground (usually disapproving) to change your opinion about a subject, especially during a discussion (the) shifting sands (of sth) used to describe a situation that changes so often that it is difficult to understand or deal with it PHRASALVERBS shift for yourself (BrE) to do things without help from other people: You're going to have to shift for yourself from now on. noun change 1 [C] ~ (in sth) a change in position or direction: a gradual shift in the population away from the countryside to the towns * a dramatic shift in public opinion * a shift of emphasis period of work 2 [C] a period of time worked by a group of workers who start work as another group finishes: to be on the day / night shift at the factory * to work an eight-hour shift * working in shifts * shift workers / work seealsoSWINGSHIFT 3 [C+sing./pl.v.] the workers who work a particular shift: The night shift has / have just come off duty. on computer 4 [U] the mechanism on a TYPEWRITER or computer keyboard that allows capital letters or a different set of characters to be typed: a shift key clothing 5 [C] a woman's simple straight dress 6 [C] a simple straight piece of clothing worn by women in the past as underwear