- Shift
- 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 merely for shift of air. --Sir H. Wotton. [1913 Webster] (b) A turning from one thing to another; hence, an expedient tried in difficulty; often, an evasion; a trick; a fraud. ``Reduced to pitiable shifts.'' --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
I 'll find a thousand shifts to get away. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
Little souls on little shifts rely. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
2. Something frequently shifted; especially, a woman's under-garment; a chemise. [1913 Webster]
3. The change of one set of workmen for another; hence, a spell, or turn, of work; also, a set of workmen who work in turn with other sets; as, a night shift. [1913 Webster]
4. In building, the extent, or arrangement, of the overlapping of plank, brick, stones, etc., that are placed in courses so as to break joints. [1913 Webster]
5. (Mining) A breaking off and dislocation of a seam; a fault. [1913 Webster]
6. (Mus.) A change of the position of the hand on the finger board, in playing the violin. [1913 Webster]
{To make shift}, to contrive or manage in an exigency. ``I shall make shift to go without him.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]
[They] made a shift to keep their own in Ireland. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
