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shifting

noun

Simple meaning

The phenomenon by which two or more constituents appearing on the same side of their common head exchange positions to get non-canonical order.

Pronunciation

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shifting

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IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈʃɪftɪŋ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A shift or change; a shifting movement.

  2. linguistics

    The phenomenon by which two or more constituents appearing on the same side of their common head exchange positions to obtain non-canonical order.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

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More ways to use shifting

  • “His constant shifting disrupted the class.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

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shifting cultivationshifting sand

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • shiftverbBase word

    Make a shift in or exchange of.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • shifternounPerson or profession

    A stagehand responsible for moving scenery.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: shift or change

variableTechnicalmoving

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.