drift

[ drift ]

/ drɪft /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR drift 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.

a 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.

Nearby words

driegh, drier, dries, driesch, driest, drift, drift anchor, drift angle, drift ice, drift indicator, drift lead

Origin of drift

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

SYNONYMS FOR drift

7 tenor.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR drift ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

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

Synonym study

7. See tendency.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for drift

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, quite predictably, fall in love, and then drift apart.
Life After ‘SVU’: Christopher Meloni on ‘They Came Together,’ Stabler, and His Famous Behind|Marlow Stern|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Now there was a way to obtain old music that the record companies had allowed to drift out of print.
15 Years After Napster: How the Music Service Changed the Industry|Alex Suskind|June 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We can drift like other animals, and often do; but we can also obey our own volition.
Life and Matter|Oliver Lodge
At the Sarcophagus, things which had all been wet enough before became saturated with drift which turned to ice.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson
But the drift of public opinion was too strong to be withstood.
History of the English People, Volume VI (of 8)|John Richard Green
This glory in turn dulled and the leaves, like petals of withered flowers, began to drift to the earth.
Erskine Dale--Pioneer|John Fox
Then they may drift slowly into a state of mental weakness, and often require as much care as imbeciles.
Epilepsy, Hysteria, and Neurasthenia|Isaac G. Briggs

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

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

Medicine 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.