Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English

1 [C] a share of the ownership of a company; the value of shares in a company that a particular shareholder owns: The agency has a 21% shareholding in Telecall. о The company's founder is to sell his controlling shareholding (= enough shares to give the owner more than 50% of votes in company meetings). Isyni holding (2)

О to acquire/build up/increase/reduce/sell your shareholding ♦ a controlling/majority/minority shareholding

1 a piec& of papef ,for writing or printing on, etc;., usually in a standard size: a sheet ofA4 о an information sheet

a flat thin piece of any material, normally square or similar in shape: a sheet of glass/steel о sheet metal

UiLLJ.sing from the same hymn sheet/'songsheet to show that you are in agreement with each other by saying the same things in public

'sheet feednoun [c] a device that pushes pieces of paper into a printer separately

see also: cash shell

a structure that forms a hard outer frame: the body shell of a car

= shell company

• verb

U!l;l4 shell out (for sth); .shell sth out (for sth)

(informal) to pay a lot of money for sth: Customers will have to shell out $200for the latest upgrade to the software. [щ] fork out

[C] a change in position or direction: the shift from a manufacturing to a service economy о There has been a fundamental shift in the way the firm manages its staff, о Management needs to clarify the strategic shift.

О a dramatic/fundamental/huge/major/significant shift ♦ a policy/strategic/structural/technology shift ♦ a shift away from/from/to/towards sth

(HR) [c] a period of time worked by a group of workers who start work as another group finishes: to be on the day/night shift at the factory о The salespeople work eight-hour shifts, о Experienced staff will be working in shifts to ensure a good service.

the day/early/evening/late/night shift ♦ to be on/ do/work a shift ♦ to change shifts * a shift manager/ supervisor/worker

(HR) [C with sing./pl. verb] the workers who work a particular shift: What time does the day shift come on? о The night shift has/have just come off duty.

[c,u] (also 'shift key [C]) a key on a computer keyboard that allows capital letters or a different set of characters to be keyed

• verb

(informal) [+ obj] to move sth from one position or place to another: Can you help me shift these boxes? о They are shifting 70% of their production to China.

[no obj] (about a situation, an opinion, a policy, etc.) to change from one state, position, etc. to another: Consumer tastes are constantly shifting, о The balance of power has shifted away from workers to employers.

[+ obj] to change your opinion of or your attitude towards sth; to change the way that you do sth: We need to shift the emphasis away from speed towards efficiency.

(Commerce, informal) [+ obj] to sell goods, especially goods that are difficult to sell: They cut prices drastically to try and shift stock, о 250 ООО of the devices have been shifted this year.

shifting /'Siftirj/ adjective changing all the time: Shifting costs force us to revise our prices constantly.

'shift key = shift noun (4)

shingle /'Jirjgl/ noun [c] (AmE) a sign outside a doctor's or lawyer's office that gives their name, etc.

1 (Commerce; Transport) the activity of carrying goods from one place to another by ship or by air, road or rail: The regulations that govern the shipping of dangerous materials are very detailed, о We offer free shipping for orders over $99.

О a shipping company/group/line ♦ shipping charges/ costs/rates ♦ a shipping clerk

(Transport) ships in general or considered as a group: The canal is open to shipping, о daily shipping forecasts (= of the weather at sea)