shift

noun
/ˈʃɪft/

A movement to do something, a beginning.

Other meanings

An act of shifting; a slight movement or change.
“There was a shift in the political atmosphere.”
A type of women's undergarment of dress length worn under dresses or skirts, a slip or chemise.
“Just last week she bought a new shift at the market.”

Synonyms

transformation

Related words

allylic shift
foreshift
frameshift
lightshift
loanshift
makeshift
manshift
midshift
multishift
blue shift
blueshift
chain shift

Example sentences

“She writes a paper on cultural shifts.”
Tatoeba · Igider · CC0
“Can you cover my shift?”
Tatoeba · shekitten · CC0
“Press the shift key.”
Tatoeba · ddnktr · CC0

Word history

From Middle English "schyft".

Where this comes from

This definition is adapted from “shift” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.