Definitions of shift:

• noun:   the act of moving from one place to another

  Example: "His constant shifting disrupted the class"

• noun:   an event in which something is displaced without rotation
• noun:   a group of workers who work for a specific period of time
• noun:   the time period during which you are at work
• noun:   the act of changing one thing or position for another
• noun:   a loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders without a waist
• noun:   a woman's sleeveless undergarment
• noun:   a qualitative change
• noun:   (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other
• verb:   move and exchange for another

  Example: "Shift the date for our class reunion"

• verb:   change gears

  Example: "You have to shift when you go down a steep hill"

• verb:   move from one setting or context to another

  Example: "Shift the emphasis"

• verb:   change in quality

  Example: "His tone shifted"

• verb:   change phonetically as part of a systematic historical change

  Example: "Grimm showed how the consonants shifted"

• verb:   use a shift key on a keyboard

  Example: "She could not shift so all ther letters are written in lower case"

• verb:   change place or direction

  Example: "Shift one's position"

• verb:   lay aside, abandon, or leave for another
• verb:   move very slightly

  Example: "He shifted in his seat"

• verb:   move around
• verb:   make a shift in or exchange of
• verb:   move abruptly
• verb:   move sideways or in an unsteady way