shift vs alter

shift is a noun but alter is not a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
shift	Yes	No	Yes	No
alter	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, alter is a hypernym of shift; that is, alter is a word with a broader meaning than shift:

Other hypernyms of shift include change, modify.

As verbs, alter is a hypernym of shift; that is, alter is a word with a broader meaning than shift:

Other hypernyms of shift include change, modify.

shift (noun)	alter (noun)
the act of moving from one place to another
the act of changing one thing or position for another
a loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders without a waist
a woman's sleeveless undergarment
the key on the typewriter keyboard that shifts from lower-case letters to upper-case letters
an event in which something is displaced without rotation
a qualitative change
a crew of workers who work for a specific period of time
(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other
the time period during which you are at work

shift (verb)	alter (verb)
make a shift in or exchange of	remove the ovaries of
move and exchange for another	become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence
lay aside, abandon, or leave for another	cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
move from one setting or context to another	insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby
change in quality	make an alteration to
change gears
change phonetically as part of a systematic historical change
use a shift key on a keyboard
change place or direction
move very slightly
move around
move abruptly
move sideways or in an unsteady way