shift

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• intransitive verb To exchange (one thing) for another of the same class.
• intransitive verb To move or transfer from one place or position to another.
• intransitive verb To alter (position or place).
• intransitive verb To change (gears), as in an automobile.
• intransitive verb Linguistics To alter phonetically as part of a systematic historical change.
• intransitive verb To change position, direction, place, or form.
• intransitive verb To provide for one's own needs; get along.
• intransitive verb To get along by tricky or evasive means.
• intransitive verb To change gears, as when driving an automobile.
• intransitive verb Linguistics To be altered as part of a systematic historical change. Used of speech sounds.
• intransitive verb To use a shift key.
• noun A change from one person or configuration to another; a substitution.
• noun A group of workers that relieve another on a regular schedule.
• noun The working period of such a group.
• noun A means to an end; an expedient.
• noun A stratagem; a trick.
• noun A change in direction.
• noun A change in attitude, judgment, or emphasis.
• noun A change in position, as.
• noun Music A change of the hand position in playing the violin or a similar instrument.
• noun Football A rearrangement of players from one formation to another just prior to the snap of the ball.
• noun Baseball A rearrangement of one or more fielders for improved defense against a particular hitter.
• noun Computers Movement of characters in a register to the left or right, as of the bits in a byte.
• noun The act or an instance of using a shift key.
• noun Physics A change in wavelength, causing a movement of a spectral band or line.
• noun A systematic change of the phonetic or phonemic structure of a language.
• noun Functional shift.
• noun A loosely fitting dress that hangs straight from the shoulder; a chemise.
• noun A woman's undergarment; a slip or chemise.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun In pianoforte-making, the action of the shifting pedal (which see).
• To divide; partition; distribute; apportion; assign: as, to shift lands among coheirs.
• To transfer or move, as from one person, place, or position to another: as, to shift the blame; to shift one's quarters; to shift the load to the other shoulder.
• To cause or induce to move off or away; get rid of, as by the use of some expedient.
• To remove and replace with another or others; put off and replace; change: as, to shift one's clothes; to shift the scenes on a stage.
• To clothe (one's self) afresh or anew; change the dress of.
• To alter or vary in character, form, or other respect; change.
• To put away; disengage or disencumber one's self of, as of a burden or inconvenience.
• To make division or distribution.
• To change.
• To change place, position, direction, or the like; move.
• To change dress, particularly the under-garments.
• To use changing methods or expedients, as in a case of difficulty, in earning a livelihood, or the like; adopt expedients; contrive in one way or another; do the best one can; seize one expedient when another fails: as, to shift for a living; to shift for one's self.
• To pick up or make out a livelihood; manage to succeed.
• To practise indirect methods.