drift

[ drift ]

/ drɪft /

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See synonyms for: drift / drifted / drifting / driftless on Thesaurus.com

noun

a driving movement or force; impulse; impetus; pressure.

Navigation. (of a ship) the component of the movement that is due to the force of wind and currents.

Oceanography. a broad, shallow ocean current that advances at the rate of 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 km) a day.

Nautical.

the flow or the speed in knots of an ocean current.
the distance between the end of a rope and the part in use.
the distance between two blocks in a tackle.
the difference in diameter between two parts, one of which fits within the other, as a mast and its mast hoops, or a treenail and its hole.

Aeronautics. the deviation of an aircraft from a set course due to cross winds.

the course along which something moves; tendency; aim: The drift of political events after the war was toward chaos.

meaning; intent; purport: the drift of a statement.

something driven, as animals, rain, etc.

a heap of any matter driven together.

a snowdrift.

Geology. glacial drift.

the state or process of being driven.

overbearing power or influence.

Military. a tool used in charging an ordnance piece.

Electronics.

a gradual change in some operating characteristic of a circuit, tube, or other electronic device, either during a brief period as an effect of warming up or during a long period as an effect of continued use.
the movement of charge carriers in a semiconductor due to the influence of an applied voltage.

Linguistics. gradual change in the structure of a language.

Machinery.

Also called driftpin. a round, tapering piece of steel for enlarging holes in metal, or for bringing holes in line to receive rivets or bolts.
a flat, tapered piece of steel used to drive tools with tapered shanks, as drill bits, from their holders.

Civil Engineering. a secondary tunnel between two main tunnels or shafts.

Mining. an approximately horizontal passageway in underground mining.

Physics. the movement of charged particles under the influence of an electric field.

Aerospace. the gradual deviation of a rocket or guided missile from its intended trajectory.

Mechanics. displacement of the gimbals of a gyroscope due to friction on bearings, unbalance of the gyroscope's mass or other imperfections.

the thrust of an arched structure.

Dentistry. a shift of the teeth from their normal position in the dental arch.

Western U.S. a flock of animals or birds.

verb (used without object)

to be carried along by currents of water or air, or by the force of circumstances.

to wander aimlessly: He drifts from town to town.

to be driven into heaps, as by the wind: drifting sand.

to deviate or vary from a set course or adjustment.

verb (used with object)

to carry along: The current drifted the boat to sea.

to drive into heaps: The wind drifted the snow.

Machinery.

to enlarge (a punched or drilled hole) with a drift.
to align or straighten (holes, especially rivet holes) with a drift.

Verb Phrases

drift off, to fall asleep gradually.

SYNONYMS FOR drift

7 tenor.

See synonyms for drift on Thesaurus.com

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”

Are you aware how often people swap around “their,” “there,” and “they’re”? Prove you have more than a fair grasp over these commonly confused words.

Question 1 of 7

Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?

their

there

they're

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of drift

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English drift, noun derivative of the Old English verb drīfan drive; cognate with Dutch drift “herd, flock,” German Trift “herd, pasturage, road to pasture”

synonym study for drift

7. See tendency.

OTHER WORDS FROM drift

drift·ing·ly, adverbdriftless, adjectivedrift·less·ness, nounun·drift·ing, adjective

Words nearby drift

dried-up, driegh, drier, Driesch, driest, drift, driftage, drift anchor, drift angle, driftbolt, drifter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for drift

In this view, play is to creativity what genetic drift is to evolution and what heat is to self-assembling molecules.
Why It Pays to Play Around - Issue 94: Evolving|Andreas Wagner|December 16, 2020|Nautilus
The random rise or fall of gene variants in a population is known as genetic drift.
How Neutral Theory Altered Ideas About Biodiversity|Christie Wilcox|December 8, 2020|Quanta Magazine
A handmade soap booth sent drifts of lavender into the unseasonably warm air.
Small Business Saturday spotlights pandemic-inspired entrepreneurship|Emily Davies|November 28, 2020|Washington Post
To make matters worse, ankle monitors are prone to technical glitches such as signal loss and drift, prohibitively short battery life, and inaccurate alerts sent to monitoring agencies.
Covid-19 has led to a worrisome uptick in the use of electronic ankle monitors|Amy Nordrum|October 8, 2020|MIT Technology Review

Conditions in Oregon are unprecedented, with fire and smoke drift threatening every wine-producing region in the state, according to the Oregon Wine Board.
Wildfires, trade wars, COVID-19: The 2020 global wine harvest may go down as the most challenging yet|Bernhard Warner|September 20, 2020|Fortune
Is he the type of character who would ever join the group permanently, or is he more of a drift-in, drift-out kind of guy?
‘Walking Dead’ Showrunner Scott Gimple Teases ‘Darker, Weirder’ Times Ahead|Melissa Leon|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After years of strategic drift, the U.S. military may finally have a path to maintain its edge over countries like China.
The Pentagon May Finally Have a Plan to Keep America on Top|Bill Sweetman|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Things can drift over time and you can find yourself very far away from shore when you thought you were quite close to the beach.
Michael Sheen’s Masterful Study of Sex and Insecurity|Caryn James|September 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The mother continues to row frantically, but the boat begins to drift slowly downstream.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Everyone will laugh, the word “nerd” will be used affectionately, and the conversation will drift on.
Self-Tracking for N00bz|Jamie Todd Rubin|July 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They stopped, leaning over a jagged fence made of sea-drift, to ask for water.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Quite a number of sandeaters, as time passed, seemed to drift in and out of the back room.
Fee of the Frontier|Horace Brown Fyfe
For all that Marius had no Italian he understood the drift of the words, assisted as they were by the man's expressive gesture.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
And they will jump into the air from the verge of high banks, and land on the drift at the bottom with perfect balance.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison
Their effect is, however, probably small as compared with that massive drift which we have now to note.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler

British Dictionary definitions for drift

drift

/ (drɪft) /

verb (mainly intr)

(also tr) to be carried along by or as if by currents of air or water or (of a current) to carry (a vessel, etc) along

to move aimlessly from place to place or from one activity to another

to wander or move gradually away from a fixed course or point; stray

(also tr) (of snow, sand, etc) to accumulate in heaps or banks or to drive (snow, sand, etc) into heaps or banks

noun

something piled up by the wind or current, such as a snowdrift

tendency, trend, meaning, or purportthe drift of the argument

a state of indecision or inaction

the extent to which a vessel, aircraft, projectile, etc is driven off its course by adverse winds, tide, or current

a general tendency of surface ocean water to flow in the direction of the prevailing windsNorth Atlantic Drift

a driving movement, force, or influence; impulse

a controlled four-wheel skid, used by racing drivers to take bends at high speed

a loose unstratified deposit of sand, gravel, etc, esp one transported and deposited by a glacier or ice sheet

a horizontal passage in a mine that follows the mineral vein

something, esp a group of animals, driven along by human or natural agenciesa drift of cattle

Also called: driftpin a tapering steel tool driven into holes to enlarge or align them before bolting or riveting

an uncontrolled slow change in some operating characteristic of a piece of equipment, esp an electronic circuit or component

linguistics gradual change in a language, esp in so far as this is influenced by the internal structure of the language rather than by contact with other languages

Southern African a ford

engineering a copper or brass bar used as a punch

Derived forms of drift

drifty, adjective

Word Origin for drift

C13: from Old Norse: snowdrift; related to Old High German trift pasturage

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for drift

drift

[ drĭft ]

n.

A gradual deviation from an original course, model, method, or intention.

Movement of teeth from their normal position in the dental arch because of the loss of contiguous teeth.

genetic drift

A variation or random oscillation about a fixed setting, position, or mode of behavior.

Idioms and Phrases with drift

drift

see get the drift.

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