Shift
Shift may mean:
- a movement
- the shift key on a keyboard
- gearshift, the metal rod used to change gears in a car (see also transmission [gearbox])
- the actual components of a gearbox
- in computing, the analogue for literal strings, for example barrel shifter (bit shift)
- in computing, the bit shift is a bitwise operator
- the analogue in mathematics, e.g. a shift operator
- arithmetic shift in telecommunication
- derived meanings of change, such as red shift, Great Vowel Shift, paradigm shift
- a work shift, typically eight hours between set times; see shift work, graveyard shift, swing shift, split shift
- the Green tax shift, a fiscal policy often proposed by Green political parties and conservationist interest groups.
- in music, a shift is a change of level and is similar to but more basic and general than a chord change. On a string instrument a shift is a movement of the left hand in order to play notes that are beyond the range of the previous hand position.
- a simple kind of undergarment, also known as a chemise (smock)
- Shift (sailing), a shift of points of sail.
- Shift the Ape, a character in the Chronicles of Narnia series.
- Shift (magazine), a former Canadian technology and culture magazine.
- an improvised knife used as a weapon, also called a shank or shiv.