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🔄 To move or change 🔄 A change 🕒 A work period 🚗 To change gears ⌨️ To type capitals ⌨️ A keyboard key 👗 A simple dress 🔊 To change sounds
to shift

to shift

39 2.3
Change gear in a vehicle, usually while driving
  • verb
  • /ʃɪft/
: cambiar de marcha
  • I can't shift down, now what's the matter?
  • shift gears

And in saying that, I shift into a different gear now.

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Examples

  • Are you going to shift into second gear?

  • Are you going to shift into second?

  • And in saying that, I shift into a different gear now.

    Tom Bilyeu

  • I know when to shift, when to gas, when to brake.

    King of the Mountain (1981)

  • - and shift out of park into D, drive, or R, reverse.

    Dead Driver (2019)

  • So it has to to shift into neutral and then it stops.

    Tom Bilyeu

  • MAX: Today we're shifting gear.

    A Good Year (2006)

  • Shift gears.

    All My Life (2020)

  • 187 The tanker roars, spewing smoke from its chrome stacks as it shifts up through the gears.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Make sure to shift smoothly between gears for a better driving experience.

Synonyms

to downshift
vsto shift
5 3.9

To change to a lower gear in a car or bike to get more power

is the general act of changing gear not only to a lower one
to upshift
vsto shift
1 4.6

To change to a higher gear in a vehicle to go faster or use less fuel

is the general act of changing gear not only to a higher one

Phrasal Verbs

to shift focus
24 3.8

Change what you pay attention to

to shift gears
20 3.9

To change what you are doing to fit a new situation

to shift someone's schedule
2 3.7

Change the time of someone's planned activities

to shift someone's investments
1 6.0

Move money from one type like stocks to another to reduce risk or try to earn more

to shift into fourth gear
1 5.8

To start working faster and try harder to reach a goal

to shift the dial
1 7.2

To make a clear change in a situation or result

to put a shift in
  • Informal
9.0

Work very hard for a short time to finish a task

Compounds

night shift
65 2.1

Work that happens during the night or the people who do it

graveyard shift
17 3.9

A night work period from midnight to early morning

day shift
16 2.2

A period of work during the day, usually from morning to afternoon, or the workers who work then

work shift
11 2.3

A period of time when you are scheduled to work, for example morning or night

stick shift
  • US
9 4.0

A car transmission you operate with a gear stick and clutch pedal

seismic shift
4 6.0

A very large and sudden change in ideas, beliefs, or ways of doing things

swing shift
  • US
3 4.3

An evening work shift from late afternoon until around midnight

evening shift
3 2.7

A period of work in the late afternoon and evening

tectonic shift
2 6.8

A very big change in a field like business or public opinion

red shift
  • Specialized
2 7.2

Light from distant galaxies moves toward red light, showing they move away

shift key
2 2.7

A key on a keyboard that makes letters capital and types other characters

split shift
  • US
2 4.6

A work schedule with two short work periods separated by a long break

population shift
  • Specialized
1 4.4

A change in where people live or how many live there

Doppler shift
  • Specialized
1 6.5

A change in sound pitch or light colour when the source and observer move

global shift
1 5.2

A large change in how people do things around the world

gear shift
1 5.0

A sudden change in plan or way of doing things to improve results

shift register
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A small memory that moves bits left or right one place at a time

Surface Forms

shift infinitive
shifted past
shifted past participle
shifting present participle
shifts third person singular

Etymology

To shift gears in a car comes from the basic idea of 'change' — you move parts of the machine from one position to another, so to shift means to change the gear you are using.