What is the meaning of shifting?

noun

  • The act of moving from one place to another.
    • usage: "his constant shifting disrupted the class"

verb

  • Make a shift in or exchange of.
    • usage: "First Joe led; then we switched"
  • Change place or direction.
    • usage: "Shift one's position"
  • Move around.
    • usage: "transfer the packet from his trouser pockets to a pocket in his jacket"
  • Move very slightly.
    • usage: "He shifted in his seat"
  • Move from one setting or context to another.
    • usage: "shift the emphasis"; "shift one's attention"
  • Change in quality.
    • usage: "His tone shifted"
  • Move and exchange for another.
    • usage: "shift the date for our class reunion"
  • Move sideways or in an unsteady way.
    • usage: "The ship careened out of control"
  • Move abruptly.
    • usage: "The ship suddenly lurched to the left"
  • Use a shift key on a keyboard.
    • usage: "She could not shift so all her letters are written in lower case"
  • Change phonetically as part of a systematic historical change.
    • usage: "Grimm showed how the consonants shifted"
  • Change gears.
    • usage: "you have to shift when you go down a steep hill"
  • Lay aside, abandon, or leave for another.
    • usage: "switch to a different brand of beer"; "She switched psychiatrists"; "The car changed lanes"

adjective

  • Continuously varying.
    • usage: "taffeta with shifting colors"
  • Changing position or direction.
    • usage: "he drifted into the shifting crowd"; "their nervous shifting glances"; "shifty winds"
  • Of soil. ( unstable)
    • usage: "shifting sands"; "unfirm earth"
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APAWordNet. (2010). shifting. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/shifting/definitions/1183406
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "shifting" http://smartdefine.org/shifting/definitions/1183406 (accessed September 22, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, shifting, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/shifting/definitions/1183406>.
MLAWordNet. "shifting" 23 October 2010. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/shifting/definitions/1183406>
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