work shift
- noun
- /wɜrk ʃɪft/
- After finishing her work shift, she always feels exhausted but accomplished.
- hours between work shifts
- beginning of each work shift
Yeah, but I'm a nurse and I work shifts at night.
- Yeah, but I'm a nurse and I work shifts at night.
Examples
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Johnny has already demonstrated significant initiative during his work shifts by creating signage, organizing materials, getting familiar with various sections, and introducing himself to customers.
Academic text (2012) -
The company has extended call-center hours and employee work shifts to better meet customers' service needs.
Blog text (23) -
She'll be by after her work shift.
-
A whistle sounds, ending the work shift.
Fiction book (1992) -
Patients who work shifts are at increased risk for cancer as well as diabetes.
-
At the end of the work shift, the device is simply capped and sent to the lab for analysis.
Academic text (1994) -
Though his work shift varied, he often worked seven days a week, usually from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. or so.
Academic text (1992) -
The impact of sleep quality on job performance should be relevant when managers make employee-related decisions such as deciding work shifts and setting performance standards.
Academic text (2014) -
At the end of Delaney's work shift, Crew Chief Yamashita paused at her station.
Fiction book (2002) -
In contrast, an FFD test can be administered at the beginning of each work shift to determine whether an employee is capable of performing the job requirements to a reasonable level.
Academic text (2005)
Synonyms
A period of work during which people do a job
A time spent doing a job or duty, often in the military
A period of work when someone is on duty
A set time when a person must work and be available
Antonyms
How Long
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a period during which a person is scheduled to work' is directly and transparently compositional from 'work' (job activity) + 'shift' (a scheduled period on duty); a learner who knows both words will readily infer the compound sense. This is a common, literal workplace collocation found across languages and routine discourse, so it should be accessible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Work shift comes from the word shift, meaning a 'turn' or change of people on a job, because workers would change places so each person had a set time to work. That's why work shift means a set 'period' when someone is planned to work.