To which God of his bounty would shift Crowns two of
flowers well smelling. --Chaucer.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
2. Adapted or used for shifting anything.
{Shifting backstays} (Naut.), 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}.
Books can never teach the use of books. --Bacon.
This Davy serves you for good uses. --Shak.
When he framed All things to man's delightful use.
--Milton.
2. Occasion or need to employ; necessity; as, to have no
further use for a book. --Shak.
3. Yielding of service; advantage derived; capability of
being used; usefulness; utility.
God made two great lights, great for their use To
man. --Milton.
'T is use alone that sanctifies expense. --Pope.
4. Continued or repeated practice; customary employment;
usage; custom; manner; habit.
Let later age that noble use envy. --Spenser.
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me
all the uses of this world! --Shak.
5. Common occurrence; ordinary experience. [R.]
O C[ae]sar! these things are beyond all use. --Shak.
6. (Eccl.) The special form of ritual adopted for use in any
diocese; as, the Sarum, or Canterbury, use; the Hereford
use; the York use; the Roman use; etc.
From henceforth all the whole realm shall have but
one use. --Pref. to
Book of Common
Prayer.
7. The premium paid for the possession and employment of
borrowed money; interest; usury. [Obs.]
Thou art more obliged to pay duty and tribute, use
and principal, to him. --Jer. Taylor.
8. [In this sense probably a corruption of OF. oes, fr. L.
opus need, business, employment, work. Cf. {Operate}.]
(Law) The benefit or profit of lands and tenements. Use
imports a trust and confidence reposed in a man for the
holding of lands. He to whose use or benefit the trust is
intended shall enjoy the profits. An estate is granted and
limited to A for the use of B.
9. (Forging) A stab of iron welded to the side of a forging,
as a shaft, near the end, and afterward drawn down, by
hammering, so as to lengthen the forging.
{Contingent}, or {Springing}, {use} (Law), a use to come into
operation on a future uncertain event.
{In use}.
(a) In employment; in customary practice observance.
(b) In heat; -- said especially of mares. --J. H. Walsh.
{Of no use}, useless; of no advantage.
{Of use}, useful; of advantage; profitable.
{Out of use}, not in employment.
{Resulting use} (Law), a use, which, being limited by the
deed, expires or can not vest, and results or returns to
him who raised it, after such expiration.
{Secondary}, or {Shifting}, {use}, a use which, though
executed, may change from one to another by circumstances.
--Blackstone.
{Statute of uses} (Eng. Law), the stat. 27 Henry VIII., cap.
10, which transfers uses into possession, or which unites
the use and possession.
{To make use of}, {To put to use}, to employ; to derive
service from; to use.