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

to shift

39 2.3
Change gear in a vehicle, usually while driving
  • verb
  • /ʃɪft/
translation icon : 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.

Autoplay Next

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
3 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
14 3.8

Change what you pay attention to

to shift gears
10 3.9

To change what you are doing to fit a new situation

to put a shift in
  • Informal
9.0

Work very hard for a short time to finish a task

to shift into fourth gear
5.8

To start working faster and try harder to reach a goal

to shift someone's investments
6.0

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

to shift someone's schedule
3.7

Change the time of someone's planned activities

to shift the dial
7.2

To make a clear change in a situation or result

Compounds

night shift
52 2.1

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

graveyard shift
15 3.9

A night work period from midnight to early morning

day shift
12 2.2

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

stick shift
  • US
5 4.0

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

seismic shift
3 6.0

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

evening shift
3 2.7

A period of work in the late afternoon and evening

swing shift
  • US
3 4.3

An evening work shift from late afternoon until around midnight

work shift
2 2.3

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

red shift
  • Specialized
2 7.2

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

tectonic shift
1 6.8

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

shift key
1 2.7

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

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

split shift
  • US
1 4.6

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

gear shift
5.0

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

shift register
  • Specialized
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.