shift

shift
{{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}}
noun
1 change
ADJECTIVE
distinct, dramatic, fundamental, huge, important, major, marked, massive, profound, pronounced, radical, seismic, significant, substantial

There has been a major shift in the public's taste.

a significant shift in policy

discernible, perceptible
slight, subtle
gradual
abrupt, rapid, sudden
decisive, irreversible, long-term
climate, cultural, demographic, ideological, policy, population, power
paradigm (= an important change in the way sth is thought about)

Einstein's theories caused a paradigm shift in scientific thought.

VERB + SHIFT
be, mark, represent

These proposals represent a dramatic shift in policy.

indicate, reflect, signal

The moment signals a significant shift in attitudes to the war.

show
detect, notice, observe, see, witness

I detected a subtle shift towards/toward our point of view.

bring about, cause, drive, lead to, produce, result in
experience, undergo

The industry has undergone a fundamental shift in recent years.

The toy industry is undergoing a seismic shift as more products are manufactured overseas.

explain

one factor which may explain the president's policy shift

SHIFT + VERB
occur, take place

These climate shifts occurred over less than a decade.

PREPOSITION
shift between

the many shifts between verse and prose that occur in Shakespeare

shift (away) from

the shift away from direct taxation

shift in

a shift in public opinion

a shift in attitude/opinion/perspective

a shift in emphasis/mood/tone

a shift in direction/focus/policy/strategy

shift to

a sudden shift to the right in politics

shift towards/toward

a shift towards/toward part-time farming

2 division of the working day
ADJECTIVE
double, long, split (esp. BrE)

I agreed to work double shifts for a few weeks.

day, early
late, swing (AmE)
graveyard (esp. AmE), night, overnight
eight-hour, ten-hour, etc.
afternoon, evening, morning, weekend
VERB + SHIFT
do, work

I'm doing the early shift this week.

He works the night shift.

I didn't realize that I'd have to work shifts.

be on, come on, go on
be off, come off, finish, go off
change

It was 8 a.m. and the nurses were changing shifts.

My husband changed his shifts from afternoons to nights.

SHIFT + VERB
begin (esp. BrE), start (esp. AmE)
end
change
SHIFT + NOUN
work
manager, supervisor, worker
pattern, system (both BrE)

They'd altered his shift pattern twice in the past month.

change

The shift change took place at 10 p.m.

PREPOSITION
in shifts

The clinic is staffed by ten doctors who work in shifts.

on a/the shift

a decision for the chief nurse on each shift

{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}
verb
1 move
ADVERB
slightly

Julie shifted her position slightly and smiled.

impatiently, nervously, restlessly, uncomfortably, uneasily

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

away
PREPOSITION
from

She shifted her gaze away from the group of tourists.

onto

He shifted his weight onto his left foot.

to

Her eyes shifted to his face.

PHRASES
shift from foot to foot
shift in your chair, shift in your seat
2 change
ADVERB
dramatically, markedly, radically

The emphasis has shifted markedly in recent years.

slightly
effectively
simply

We cannot simply shift the responsibility onto someone else.

gradually, slowly
quickly, rapidly
suddenly
constantly, continually

constantly shifting alliances

away

Government grants are being shifted away from the capital to the regions.

VERB + SHIFT
attempt to, try to

They tried to shift the blame onto the government.

tend to
begin to
PREPOSITION
(away) from

I felt the advantage had suddenly shifted away from us.

back, back and forth

Like many plays, this one shifts back and forth in time and place.

into (AmE)

to shift into second gear

out of

In recent years, manufacturing has shifted out of the US.

onto, to

His sympathies rapidly shifted to the side of the workers.

towards/toward

These changes will shift the balance more towards/toward science subjects.

Shift is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑attention, ↑attitude, ↑balance, ↑emphasis, ↑eye, ↑focus, ↑gaze, ↑mood, ↑scene
Shift is used with these nouns as the object: ↑allegiance, ↑attention, ↑balance, ↑blame, ↑bulk, ↑burden, ↑debate, ↑direction, ↑emphasis, ↑focus, ↑gaze, ↑gear, ↑grip, ↑loyalty, ↑perception, ↑perspective, ↑position, ↑responsibility, ↑stance, ↑tactic, ↑weight

Collocations dictionary. 2013.

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  • Shift — generally means to change (position). Shift may refer to: * Gear shift, to change gears in a car * Shift work, an employment practice * Shift (music), a change of level in music * Shift (magazine), a former Canadian technology and culture… …   Wikipedia

  • Shift — (sh[i^]ft), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Shifted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Shifting}.] [OE. shiften, schiften, to divide, change, remove. AS. sciftan to divide; akin to LG. & D. schiften to divide, distinguish, part Icel. skipta to divide, to part, to shift, to …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • shift — shift; shift·abil·i·ty; shift·able; shift·er; shift·ful; shift·i·ly; shift·i·ness; shift·less; shift·man; make·shift; blue·shift·ed; make·shift·ness; shift·less·ly; shift·less·ness; …   English syllables

  • Shift — Shift, n. [Cf. Icel. skipti. See {Shift}, v. t.] 1. The act of shifting. Specifically: (a) The act of putting one thing in the place of another, or of changing the place of a thing; change; substitution. [1913 Webster] My going to Oxford was not… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Shift — Расположение клавиши Shift Shift  клавиша на клавиатуре компьютера, предназначенная для ввода заглавных букв. При одновременном нажатии клавиши   …   Википедия

  • shift — ► VERB 1) move or change from one position to another. 2) Brit. informal move quickly. 3) (shift oneself) Brit. informal move or rouse oneself. 4) Brit. remove (a stain). 5) informal sell (goods) quickly or in large quantities. 6) …   English terms dictionary

  • shift — [shift] vt. [ME schiften < OE sciftan, to divide, separate < IE * skeib > SHIP] 1. to move or transfer from one person, place, or position to another [to shift the blame] 2. to replace by another or others; change or exchange 3. to… …   English World dictionary

  • Shift — steht für: die Umschalttaste beziehungsweise Hochstelltaste auf Tastaturen Schiften beim Segeln in der Fotografie als Shift Effekt, um Bilder perspektivisch zu entzerren, und Tilt und Shift Objektive, mit denen diese Aufgabe schon bei der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Shift — Shift, v. i. 1. To divide; to distribute. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Some this, some that, as that him liketh shift. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 2. To make a change or changes; to change position; to move; to veer; to substitute one thing for another;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • shift — [n1] switch, fluctuation about face*, alteration, bend, change, changeover, conversion, deflection, deviation, displacement, double, fault, modification, move, passage, permutation, rearrangement, removal, shifting, substitution, tack, transfer,… …   New thesaurus

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