Synonyms for shift

verb

  1. To change position

    slip, budge, fault, move, move over, turn, stir; see also change 4.

  2. To cause to shift, sense 1

    displace, remove, substitute; see change 1, exchange 1.

  3. To put in gear

    change gears, double-clutch, downshift, split-shift, put in drive; see also drive 3.

  4. To manage

    get along, shift for oneself, get by; see endure 2.

noun

  1. A change

    transfer, transformation, substitution, displacement, fault, alteration, variation; see also change 2.

  2. A working period

    turn, spell, stint, working time; see time 1.

  3. Those who work a shift, sense 2

    gang, squad, relay, group, workmen; see also team 1.

make shift to

contrive to, find a way to, devise a means of; see manage, succeed 1.

See shift in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II


verb
  1. To give up in return for something else:

    change, commute, exchange, interchange, substitute, switch, trade. (Informal) swap. See change, substitute
  2. To leave or discard for another:

    change, switch. See change, substitute
  3. To alter the settled state or position of:

    dislocate, displace, disturb, move, shake. See move
  4. To go or cause to go from one place to another:

    maneuver, move, remove, transfer. See move
  5. To change the direction or course of:

    avert, deflect, deviate, divert, pivot, swing, turn, veer. See change
  6. To progress or perform adequately, especially in difficult circumstances:

    do, fare, fend, get along, get by, manage, muddle through. (Informal) make out. Idioms: make do, make shift. See thrive
noun
  1. The act of exchanging or substituting:

    change, commutation, exchange, interchange, substitution, switch, trade, transposition. (Informal) swap. See change, substitute
  2. A limited, often assigned period of activity, duty, or opportunity:

    bout, go, hitch, inning (often used in plural), spell3, stint, stretch, time, tour, trick, turn, watch. See time
  3. Something used temporarily or reluctantly when other means are not available:

    expediency, expedient, makeshift, stopgap. See help, substitute
  4. An often sudden change or departure, as in a trend:

    tack, turn, twist. See change
  5. A change in normal place or position:

    dislocation, displacement, disturbance, move, movement, rearrangement. See move
  6. The process or result of changing from one appearance, state, or phase to another:

    change, changeover, conversion, metamorphosis, mutation, transfiguration, transformation, translation, transmogrification, transmutation, transubstantiation. See change
  7. The process or an instance of passing from one form, state, or stage to another:

    change, passage, transit, transition. See change

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