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.