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42 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Shift \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 change, Dan skifte, Sw. skifta, and
     probably to Icel. sk[=i]fa to cut into slices, as n., a
     slice, and to E. shive, sheave, n., shiver, n.]
     1. To divide; to distribute; to apportion. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              To which God of his bounty would shift
              Crowns two of flowers well smelling.  --Chaucer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To change the place of; to move or remove from one place
        to another; as, to shift a burden from one shoulder to
        another; to shift the blame.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Hastily he schifte him[self].         --Piers
                                                    Plowman.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Pare saffron between the two St. Mary's days,
              Or set or go shift it that knowest the ways.
                                                    --Tusser.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To change the position of; to alter the bearings of; to
        turn; as, to shift the helm or sails.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Carrying the oar loose, [they] shift it hither and
              thither at pleasure.                  --Sir W.
                                                    Raleigh.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. To exchange for another of the same class; to remove and
        to put some similar thing in its place; to change; as, to
        shift the clothes; to shift the scenes.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              I would advise you to shift a shirt.  --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. To change the clothing of; -- used reflexively. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              As it were to ride day and night; and . . . not to
              have patience to shift me.            --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. To put off or out of the way by some expedient. ``I
        shifted him away.'' --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     To shift off, to delay; to defer; to put off; to lay aside.
        
  
     To shift the scene, to change the locality or the
        surroundings, as in a play or a story.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Shift the scene for half an hour;
              Time and place are in thy power.      --Swift.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Shifting \Shift"ing\, a.
     1. Changing in place, position, or direction; varying;
        variable; fickle; as, shifting winds; shifting opinions or
        principles.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Adapted or used for shifting anything.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Shifting backstays (Naut.), temporary stays that have to be
        let go whenever the vessel tacks or jibes.
  
     Shifting ballast, ballast which may be moved from one side
        of a vessel to another as safety requires.
  
     Shifting center. See Metacenter.
  
     Shifting locomotive. See Switching engine, under
        Switch.
        [1913 Webster]

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]


  Shift \Shift\, 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 change, Dan skifte, Sw. skifta, and probably to
     Icel. sk[=i]fa to cut into slices, as n., a slice, and to E.
     shive, sheave, n., shiver, n.]
     1. To divide; to distribute; to apportion. [Obs.]
  
              To which God of his bounty would shift Crowns two of
              flowers well smelling.                --Chaucer.
  
     2. To change the place of; to move or remove from one place
        to another; as, to shift a burden from one shoulder to
        another; to shift the blame.
  
              Hastily he schifte him[self].         --Piers
                                                    Plowman.
  
              Pare saffron between the two St. Mary's days, Or set
              or go shift it that knowest the ways. --Tusser.
  
     3. To change the position of; to alter the bearings of; to
        turn; as, to shift the helm or sails.
  
              Carrying the oar loose, [they] shift it hither and
              thither at pleasure.                  --Sir W.
                                                    Raleigh.
  
     4. To exchange for another of the same class; to remove and
        to put some similar thing in its place; to change; as, to
        shift the clothes; to shift the scenes.
  
              I would advise you to shift a shirt.  --Shak.
  
     5. To change the clothing of; -- used reflexively. [Obs.]
  
              As it were to ride day and night; and . . . not to
              have patience to shift me.            --Shak.
  
     6. To put off or out of the way by some expedient. ``I
        shifted him away.'' --Shak.
  
     To shift off, to delay; to defer; to put off; to lay aside.
        
  
     To shift the scene, to change the locality or the
        surroundings, as in a play or a story.
  
              Shift the scene for half an hour; Time and place are
              in thy power.                         --Swift.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]


  Shifting \Shift"ing\, a.
     1. Changing in place, position, or direction; varying;
        variable; fickle; as, shifting winds; shifting opinions or
        principles.
  
     2. Adapted or used for shifting anything.
  
     Shifting backstays (Naut.), temporary stays that have to be
        let go whenever the vessel tacks or jibes.
  
     Shifting ballast, ballast which may be moved from one side
        of a vessel to another as safety requires.
  
     Shifting center. See Metacenter.
  
     Shifting locomotive. See Switching engine, under
        Switch.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]


  Use \Use\, n. [OE. us use, usage, L. usus, from uti, p. p. usus,
     to use. See Use, v. t.]
     1. The act of employing anything, or of applying it to one's
        service; the state of being so employed or applied;
        application; employment; conversion to some purpose; as,
        the use of a pen in writing; his machines are in general
        use.
  
              Books can never teach the use of books. --Bacon.
  
              This Davy serves you for good uses.   --Shak.
  
              When he framed All things to man's delightful use.
                                                    --Milton.
  
     2. Occasion or need to employ; necessity; as, to have no
        further use for a book. --Shak.
  
     3. Yielding of service; advantage derived; capability of
        being used; usefulness; utility.
  
              God made two great lights, great for their use To
              man.                                  --Milton.
  
              'T is use alone that sanctifies expense. --Pope.
  
     4. Continued or repeated practice; customary employment;
        usage; custom; manner; habit.
  
              Let later age that noble use envy.    --Spenser.
  
              How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me
              all the uses of this world!           --Shak.
  
     5. Common occurrence; ordinary experience. [R.]
  
              O C[ae]sar! these things are beyond all use. --Shak.
  
     6. (Eccl.) The special form of ritual adopted for use in any
        diocese; as, the Sarum, or Canterbury, use; the Hereford
        use; the York use; the Roman use; etc.
  
              From henceforth all the whole realm shall have but
              one use.                              --Pref. to
                                                    Book of Common
                                                    Prayer.
  
     7. The premium paid for the possession and employment of
        borrowed money; interest; usury. [Obs.]
  
              Thou art more obliged to pay duty and tribute, use
              and principal, to him.                --Jer. Taylor.
  
     8. [In this sense probably a corruption of OF. oes, fr. L.
        opus need, business, employment, work. Cf. Operate.]
        (Law) The benefit or profit of lands and tenements. Use
        imports a trust and confidence reposed in a man for the
        holding of lands. He to whose use or benefit the trust is
        intended shall enjoy the profits. An estate is granted and
        limited to A for the use of B.
  
     9. (Forging) A stab of iron welded to the side of a forging,
        as a shaft, near the end, and afterward drawn down, by
        hammering, so as to lengthen the forging.
  
     Contingent, or Springing, use (Law), a use to come into
        operation on a future uncertain event.
  
     In use.
        (a) In employment; in customary practice observance.
        (b) In heat; -- said especially of mares. --J. H. Walsh.
  
     Of no use, useless; of no advantage.
  
     Of use, useful; of advantage; profitable.
  
     Out of use, not in employment.
  
     Resulting use (Law), a use, which, being limited by the
        deed, expires or can not vest, and results or returns to
        him who raised it, after such expiration.
  
     Secondary, or Shifting, use, a use which, though
        executed, may change from one to another by circumstances.
        --Blackstone.
  
     Statute of uses (Eng. Law), the stat. 27 Henry VIII., cap.
        10, which transfers uses into possession, or which unites
        the use and possession.
  
     To make use of, To put to use, to employ; to derive
        service from; to use.

From WordNet (r) 2.0 : [ wn ]


  shifting
       adj 1: continuously moving or changing from position or direction;
              "he drifted into the shifting crowd"; "their nervous
              shifting glances"
       2: continuously varying; "taffeta with shifting colors"
       3: (of soil) unstable; "shifting sands"; "unfirm earth" [syn: unfirm]
       n : the act of moving from one place to another; "his constant
           shifting disrupted the class" [syn: shift]

From English Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  shifting
     n.
     A shift or change; a shifting movement.
     vb.
     (present participle of en shift nocat=1)

From English Wiktionary: English language only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-en-2023-07-27 ]


  shifting
     n.
     A shift or change; a shifting movement.
     vb.
     (present participle of en shift nocat=1)

From English Wiktionary: Western, Greek, and Slavonic languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western_Greek_Slavonic-2023-07-27 ]


  shifting
     n.
     A shift or change; a shifting movement.
     vb.
     (present participle of en shift nocat=1)

From English Wiktionary: Western languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western-2023-07-27 ]


  shifting
     n.
     A shift or change; a shifting movement.
     vb.
     (present participle of en shift nocat=1)

From Finnish Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-fi-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  shifting
     Englanti vb.
     (en-v-taivm s hift ing)

From Swedish Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-sv-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  shifting
     Engelska a.
     (avledning en shift ordform=prespart)

From English-Arabic FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.6.3 : [ freedict:eng-ara ]


  Shifting /ʃˈɪftɪŋ/
  الإنتقال

From English-Czech dicts.info/FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.1.3 : [ freedict:eng-ces ]


  shifting /ʃˈɪftɪŋ/ 
  posouvání