(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If you ~ something or if it ~s, it moves slightly.
He stopped, ~ing his cane to his left hand...
He ~ed from foot to foot...
The entire pile ~ed and slid, thumping onto the floor.
...the squeak of his boots in the snow as he ~ed his weight.
VERB: V n prep/adv, V prep/adv, V, V n
2.
If someone’s opinion, a situation, or a policy ~s or is ~ed, it changes slightly.
Attitudes to mental illness have ~ed in recent years...
The emphasis should be ~ed more towards Parliament.
VERB: V, be V-ed prep/adv
•
Shift is also a noun.
...a ~ in government policy.
N-COUNT: usu N prep
3.
If someone ~s the responsibility or blame for something onto you, they unfairly make you responsible or make people blame you for it, instead of them.
It was a vain attempt to ~ the responsibility for the murder to somebody else...
VERB: V n prep disapproval
4.
If a shop or company ~s goods, they sell goods that are difficult to sell. (BRIT)
Some suppliers were selling at a loss to ~ stock.
VERB
5.
If you ~ gears in a car, you put the car into a different gear. (AM; in BRIT, use change )
VERB
6.
If a group of factory workers, nurses, or other people work ~s, they work for a set period before being replaced by another group, so that there is always a group working. Each of these set periods is called a ~. You can also use ~ to refer to a group of workers who work together on a particular ~.
His father worked ~s in a steel mill.
N-COUNT: oft n N
7.
see also ~ing