shift vs transition

shift and transition both are nouns.

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

As nouns, transition is a hyponym of shift; that is, transition is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than shift:

As verbs, transition is a hyponym of shift; that is, transition is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than shift:

shift: lay aside, abandon, or leave for another
transition: make or undergo a transition (from one state or system to another)

Other hyponyms of shift include shift, break, channel-surf, surf, jump, leap, diphthongise, diphthongize, cut, break.

shift (noun)	transition (noun)
the act of moving from one place to another	the act of passing from one state or place to the next
the act of changing one thing or position for another	a passage that connects a topic to one that follows
a loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders without a waist	a musical passage moving from one key to another
a woman's sleeveless undergarment	an event that results in a transformation
the key on the typewriter keyboard that shifts from lower-case letters to upper-case letters	a change from one place or state or subject or stage to another
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)	transition (verb)
make a shift in or exchange of	make or undergo a transition (from one state or system to another)
move and exchange for another	cause to convert or undergo a transition
lay aside, abandon, or leave for another
move from one setting or context to another
change in quality
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