SHIFT

Definitions

1. 1. To divide; to distribute; to apportion. [Obs.] To which God of his bounty would shift Crowns two of flowers well smelling. Chaucer.
2. 2. To change the place of; to move or remove from one place to another; as, to shift a burden from one shoulder to another; to shift the blame. Hastily he schifte him[self]. Piers Plowman. Pare saffron between the two St. Mary's days, Or set or go shift it that knowest the ways. Tusser.
3. 3. To change the position of; to alter the bearings of; to turn; as, to shift the helm or sails. Carrying the oar loose, [they] shift it hither and thither at pleasure. Sir W. Raleigh.
4. 4. To exchange for another of the same class; to remove and to put some similar thing in its place; to change; as, to shift the clothes; to shift the scenes. I would advise you to shift a shirt. Shak.
5. 5. To change the clothing of; -- used reflexively. [Obs.] As it were to ride day and night; and . . . not to have patience to shift me. Shak.
6. 6. To put off or out of the way by some expedient. "I shifted him away." Shak. To shift off, to delay; to defer; to put off; to lay aside. -- To shift the scene, to change the locality or the surroundings, as in a play or a story. Shift the scene for half an hour; Time and place are in thy power. Swift.