shifting

noun

"shifting" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shifting” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,396. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,396
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A shift or change; a shifting movement.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shifting · shifting · English

shifting · rank #7,396 · 13 variants · 16 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,396
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shining

Nearest frequency peer: shining (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “shifting”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “shifting” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

shifting vs siting
75% similar
shifting vs sitting
75% similar
shifting vs shining
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for shifting
PropertyValue
Headwordshifting
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Frequency rank#7,396
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “shifting”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).shiftinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “shining” (#7,397), “sequel” (#7,394), “slower” (#7,398). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shifting” is #7,396. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around shifting, anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,396 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for shifting, with forms such as "hsifting", "shfiting", and "shhifting". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "siting", "sitting", "shining", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is shifting, spelled S-H-I-F-T-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A shift or change; a shifting movement.
  2. 2
    The phenomenon by which two or more constituents appearing on the same side of their common head exchange positions to obtain non-canonical order.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how shifting appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I remember the last time I saw Macbeth played, the discrepancy I felt at the changes of garment which he varied, the shiftings and reshiftings, like a Romish priest at mass.
  2. But shiftings and readjustments ensued, as they are sure to do with a walking-party. Cope presently found himself scuffling through the thin grass and the briery thickets alongside the young business-man.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsifting
  • shfiting
  • shhifting
  • shiffting
  • shifitng
  • shiftign
  • shiftingg
  • shiftinng
  • shiftnig
  • shiftting
  • shitfing
  • sihfting
  • sshifting

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shifting - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

hsifting2shfiting2shhifting1shiffting1shifitng2shiftign2shiftingg1shiftinng1
Edit distance from "shifting"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shifting"?
"shifting" is spelled S-H-I-F-T-I-N-G.
What does "shifting" mean?
As a noun, "shifting" means: A shift or change; a shifting movement.
What words are commonly confused with "shifting"?
"shifting" is commonly confused with "siting", "sitting", "shining". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "shifting" come from?
"shifting" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "shifting", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list