drift

DRIFT/dɹɪft/

Noun pluraldrifts

41 meanings of drift

1
verbintransitive
To move slowly, carried along by water, air, or another current.
Like a leaf floating wherever the river decides to take it.
The empty boat began to drift toward the rocks.
Smoke drifted lazily across the quiet valley.
Similarfloat, glide, waft, flow
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2
verbintransitive
To move around with no plan or goal.
Like a balloon blown around with no one holding the string.
After college, he seemed to drift from job to job.
The tourists drifted through the market with no real plan.
Similarwander, roam, meander, rove, ramble
Oppositesettle
3
nouncountable or uncountable
A pile of snow, sand, or other matter heaped up by wind or water.
Like a heap of leaves the wind pushes into a corner.
A deep drift of snow blocked the front door.
The storm left a drift of sand across the road.
Similarbank, heap, pile, mound
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4
nouncountable or uncountable
A slow change that builds up little by little over time.
Like a sandbar that slowly shifts until the river looks different.
There has been a steady drift toward online shopping.
A gradual drift in prices worried the shop owners.
Similarshift, trend, movement, creep, slide
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5
nouncountable or uncountable
The general meaning or point of what someone is saying.
Like seeing the shape of a hill through fog: not every detail, but the main idea.
I think I get the drift of your argument.
Even without every word, she caught the drift of the conversation.
Similargist, meaning, thrust, point, tenor
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6
verbintransitive
To move slowly away from the direction you meant to go.
Like a shopping cart that slowly rolls to one side on its own.
The car began to drift toward the shoulder of the road.
Without correction, the plane will drift off course.
Similarstray, veer, wander, deviate
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7
verbtransitive or intransitive
To slide a car sideways through a turn on purpose while keeping control.
Like sliding sideways on a bike across loose gravel, but on purpose and under control.
He learned to drift his old car around the empty parking lot.
The driver drifted through the hairpin in a cloud of smoke.
Similarslide
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8
nouncountable or uncountable
The act of drifting, or a strong force that pushes something along.
Like a current you can feel tugging you along even when you stand still.
The slow drift of the ice carried the seals far out to sea.
He felt the drift of the crowd pulling him toward the exit.
Similarcurrent, flow, pull, sweep, momentum
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9
verbintransitive
To pile up into heaps when blown by the wind.
Like leaves the wind sweeps into a big pile by the wall.
Snow began to drift against the barn door overnight.
Sand drifted across the highway during the storm.
Similarpile, heap, bank, accumulate
10
nouncountable or uncountable
How far a boat is pushed off its planned course by wind or currents.
Like walking straight but ending up to one side because the wind keeps pushing you.
The captain measured the drift before setting a new heading.
Strong currents added several miles of drift to the voyage.
Similarleeway, deviation
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11
noununcountable
A small change in how fast audio or video plays compared to its correct speed.
Like a clock that slowly runs a little fast until it's off by minutes.
A slight drift made the soundtrack fall behind the picture.
Listeners noticed a drift in pitch as the tape aged.
Similardeviation
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12
nouncountable or uncountable
Loose earth, rocks, and boulders left spread across the land by melting glaciers.
Like the mud and stones a melting snowbank leaves behind, but on a huge scale.
The farmland sits on a thick layer of glacial drift.
Geologists mapped the drift covering the old valley floor.
Note
13
nouncountable or uncountable
The direction in which something is pushed or carried along.
Like the way smoke shows you which way the wind is going.
The drift of the current took the canoe toward the far bank.
Sailors watched the drift of the clouds to guess the wind.
Similarcourse, direction, set, path, trajectory
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14
verbtransitive
To carry something along, the way water or wind moves a floating object.
Like a river carrying a stick downstream.
The current drifted the small boat far from shore.
Strong winds drift the fallen leaves into the gutter.
Similarcarry, wash, sweep, bear, convey
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15
verbtransitive
To blow or push something into heaps.
Like sweeping crumbs into a little mound with your hand.
The wind drifted the snow against the cabin walls.
Gusts drift the dry leaves into tall piles.
Similarpile, heap, bank, blow
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16
nouncountable or uncountable
Wood that has floated in on the sea and washed up onto the beach.
Like bits of wood the sea brings in and leaves on the sand.
After the storm, we collected drift along the shoreline for our fire.
The beach was covered in drift left behind by the high tide.
Similardriftwood, flotsam
17
nouncountable or uncountable
How far a current moves something in a set amount of time.
Like measuring how far a river pushes a leaf in one minute.
The sailors measured the drift to see how far the tide had pushed them.
In an hour, the drift carried the buoy nearly a mile down the channel.
Note
18
nouncountable or uncountable
In cricket, the sideways movement of a spun ball as it travels through the air.
Like how a thrown ball can curve sideways in the wind.
The bowler got great drift on the ball, pulling it away from the batsman.
That delivery had so much drift it curved before it bounced.
Similarswerve
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19
noununcountable
When an actor slowly moves away from where they should be standing in a scene.
Like slowly stepping out of your spot without noticing you moved.
The director noticed some drift and asked the actor to find his mark again.
A little drift during the long take ruined the camera framing.
Note
20
nouncountable or uncountable
The sideways movement of a long, spinning bullet away from the straight line it was fired along.
Like how a spinning top slowly leans to one side as it turns.
Shooters allow for drift when aiming at distant targets.
At long range, drift can push the shot well to one side.
Similardeviation, deflection
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21
nouncountable or uncountable
In mining, how far a tunnel or drill hole moves away from its planned path.
Like a drill slowly bending away from the straight line you wanted.
The crew corrected the drift before the tunnel veered too far.
Measuring tools showed a small drift in the borehole.
Similardeviation, deflection
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22
nouncountable or uncountable
A tapered steel tool that is driven into a hole in metal to make it bigger or reshape it.
Like a wedge you push through a hole to make it open up wider.
The mechanic tapped a drift through the hole to widen it.
He used a drift to true up the bolt hole in the bracket.
Similarbroach
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23
nouncountable or uncountable
A group of animals, such as cattle, sheep, or birds, moving along together.
Like a big crowd of animals all walking the same way at once.
A drift of sheep moved slowly across the open hillside.
The farmer drove the drift of cattle toward the river.
Similardrove, flock, herd
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24
nouncountable or uncountable
A shallow place in a river where you can cross to the other side.
Like a low, shallow spot where you can walk across a stream.
They led the horses across the river at the drift.
The drift was too deep to cross after the heavy rain.
Similarford, crossing
25
nouncountable or uncountable
In mining, a small underground tunnel cut between one shaft and another.
Like a hallway underground that joins two deep holes together.
Miners dug a drift to connect the two shafts underground.
The narrow drift let them move ore between the workings.
Similargallery, passage, tunnel, level
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26
nouncountable or uncountable
In mining, a tunnel dug forward to search for or remove ore, often ending in a dead end.
Like digging a long dead-end tunnel to see what's hidden in the rock.
They drove a drift into the hillside to find the ore body.
The exploration drift ended where the vein ran out.
Similaradit, tunnel, level
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27
nouncountable or uncountable
A tool used to push a removable pin in or out so two parts line up or hold together.
Like a thin rod you use to push a small peg in or out of a hole.
He used a drift to knock the pin out of the hinge.
A drift helped line up the two plates before bolting them.
Similarpunch
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28
verbtransitive
To make a hole in metal bigger or to shape it using a tapered tool.
Like pushing a wedge through a hole to open it up wider.
Workers drift the holes so the bolts will pass through cleanly.
You can drift the opening to fit a larger pin.
Similarbroach, ream
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29
verbUSintransitive
In mining, to dig a tunnel along a vein to look for metal or ore.
Like digging your way along a hidden line to find what is buried.
The miners began to drift along the vein in search of gold.
They drift through the rock to find where the ore is richest.
Similarprospect
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30
nouncountable or uncountable
In building, the sideways push that an arch or vault presses against its supports.
Like the outward push you feel when you lean two cards together into a tent.
The thick walls were built to take the drift of the great arch.
Buttresses help resist the drift from the heavy vault above.
Similarthrust
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31
noun
Something pushed along with no set path.
32
nounobsolete
A strong push or rush.
The dragon drew him [self] away with drift of his wings.
1332, author unknown, King Alisaunder
33
noun
A tool for pressing powder down into a firework.
34
noun
In a mine, a sloping passage for hauling loads up to the surface or between levels.
35
noun
A tunnel in a coal mine for exploring or for air.
36
noun
A tunnel cut along inside a coal layer.
37
noun
The angle of a drifting ship's path compared with north.
38
noun
The place on an old ship where the side rail steps up and ends.
39
noun
How far apart the two pulley blocks of a lifting rig are.
40
noun
How much bigger a bolt is than its hole, or a mast than the hoop driven onto it.
41
noun
A roundup of the ponies that roam free in England's New Forest.

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English drift, meaning driving or a rush of rain or snow. It comes from the verb drive plus -t.