transition vs shift

transition and shift both are nouns.

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

As nouns, shift is a hypernym of transition; that is, shift is a word with a broader meaning than transition:

Other hypernyms of transition include transformation, transmutation.

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

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

Other hypernyms of transition include change, switch.

transition (noun)	shift (noun)
the act of passing from one state or place to the next	the act of moving from one place to another
a passage that connects a topic to one that follows	the act of changing one thing or position for another
a musical passage moving from one key to another	a loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders without a waist
an event that results in a transformation	a woman's sleeveless undergarment
a change from one place or state or subject or stage to another	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

transition (verb)	shift (verb)
make or undergo a transition (from one state or system to another)	make a shift in or exchange of
cause to convert or undergo a transition	move and exchange for another
	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