shifting - definition, synonyms and pronunciation

Open English WordNet

Adjective (3)

continuously varying“taffeta with shifting colors”Opposite invariableSimilar variable
changing position or direction“he drifted into the shifting crowd”“their nervous shifting glances”“shifty winds”Synonyms: shiftyOpposite steadySimilar unsteady
(of soil) unstable“shifting sands”“unfirm earth”Synonyms: unfirmOpposite compactSimilar loose

Noun (1)

the act of moving from one place to another“his constant shifting disrupted the class”Synonyms: shiftType of motion, movement

Word of the day · Nov 7About this word

perennialadjective

What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Shift′ing adjective

1. Changing in place, position, or direction; varying; variable; fickle; as, shifting winds; shifting opinions or principles.

2. Adapted or used for shifting anything.

Shifting backstays Nautical, temporary stays that have to be let go whenever the vessel tacks or jibes. — Shifting ballast, ballast which may be moved from one side of a vessel to another as safety requires. — Shifting center. See Metacenter. — Shifting locomotive. See Switching engine, under Switch.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54