categoryshifting

Category shifting is the reassignment of a word, phrase, or concept from one grammatical or semantic category to another. The term is used across disciplines, and its meaning varies by context: linguistics emphasizes reclassification without changing form, while business discusses repositioning a product into a new market category.

In linguistics, category shifting is often called conversion or functional shift. It occurs when a word changes its part of speech without affixation, a zero-derivation. Examples include noun-to-verb shifts such as the noun text becoming the verb to text, and run existing as both noun and verb. The noun gift is now commonly used as a verb, as in to gift someone. Adjectives used as nouns also occur, as in the rich or the poor. Such shifts are common in English and many other languages, though acceptability varies by context.

In marketing, category shifting describes moving a brand or product into a different category to reach new customers or drive growth. This can involve broader use cases, packaging changes, or new price points. Examples include a dairy brand expanding into plant-based beverages or a snack company entering a ready-to-eat meals category. Benefits include access to new demand; risks include brand dilution, consumer confusion, and internal resource strain.

Because the term spans disciplines, authors should specify the domain when using it. Related ideas include linguistic conversion, marketing category expansion, and concept drift in cognitive science and data science; however, these terms are not interchangeable.