Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense drifts, present participle drifting, past tense, past participle drifted
1. verb
When something drifts somewhere, it is carried there by the movement of wind or water.
We proceeded to drift on up the river. [VERB adverb/preposition]
The climbing balloon drifted silently over the countryside. [VERB adverb/preposition]
The waves became rougher as they drifted. [VERB]
Synonyms: float, go (aimlessly), bob, coast More Synonyms of drift
2. verb
If someone or something driftsinto a situation, they get into that situation in a way that is not planned or controlled.
We need to offer young people drifting into crime an alternative set of values. [VERB preposition/adverb]
She and her husband drifted apart and, eventually, they divorced. [VERB preposition/adverb]
There is a general sense that the country and economy alike are drifting. [VERB]
3. verb
If you say that someone drifts around, you mean that they travel from place to place without a plan or settled way of life.
[disapproval]
You've been drifting from job to job without any real commitment. [VERB preposition/adverb]
[Also VERB]
4. countable noun
A drift is a movement away from somewhere or something, or a movement towards somewhere orsomething different.
...the drift towards the cities.
Synonyms: shift, movement, flow, transfer More Synonyms of drift
5. verb
To drift somewhere means to move there slowly or gradually.
As rural factories shed labour, people drift towards the cities. [VERB preposition]
6. verb
If sounds drift somewhere, they can be heard but they are not very loud.
Voices drifted to him across the car park. [VERB preposition/adverb]
7. verb
If snow drifts, it builds up into piles as a result of the movement of the wind.
The snow, except where it drifted, was only calf-deep. [VERB]
The storm caused severe drifting. [VERB-ing]
...the white and drifted snow. [VERB-ed]
Synonyms: pile up, gather, accumulate, amass More Synonyms of drift
8. countable noun
A drift is a mass of snow that has built up into a pile as a result of the movement of wind.
...a nine-foot snow drift.
9. countable noun [with supplement, usually NOUNof noun]
A driftof something is an amount of it that has been created by the movement of wind or water.
There was a drift of smoke above the trees.
10. singular noun
Thedrift of an argument or speech is the general point that is being made in it.
Grace was beginning to get his drift.
Anybody who's listening will get the drift of what he was saying.
I follow the drift of her conversation.
[Also + of]
Synonyms: meaning, point, gist, aim More Synonyms of drift
Phrasal verbs:
See drift off
More Synonyms of drift
drift in British English
(drɪft)
verb(mainly intr)
1. (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
2.
to move aimlessly from place to place or from one activity to another
3.
to wander or move gradually away from a fixed course or point; stray
4. (also tr)
(of snow, sand, etc) to accumulate in heaps or banks or to drive (snow, sand, etc) into heaps or banks
noun
5.
something piled up by the wind or current, such as a snowdrift
6.
tendency, trend, meaning, or purport
the drift of the argument
7.
a state of indecision or inaction
8.
the extent to which a vessel, aircraft, projectile, etc is driven off its course by adverse winds, tide, or current
9.
a general tendency of surface ocean water to flow in the direction of the prevailing winds
North Atlantic Drift
10.
a driving movement, force, or influence; impulse
11.
a controlled four-wheel skid, used by racing drivers to take bends at high speed
12.
a loose unstratified deposit of sand, gravel, etc, esp one transported and deposited by a glacier or ice sheet
13.
a horizontal passage in a mine that follows the mineral vein
14.
something, esp a group of animals, driven along by human or natural agencies
a drift of cattle
15. Also called: driftpin
a tapering steel tool driven into holes to enlarge or align them before bolting or riveting
16.
an uncontrolled slow change in some operating characteristic of a piece of equipment, esp an electroniccircuit or component
17. 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
18. South Africa
a ford
19. engineering
a copper or brass bar used as a punch
Derived forms
drifty (ˈdrifty)
adjective
Word origin
C13: from Old Norse: snowdrift; related to Old High German trift pasturage
drift in American English
(drɪft)
noun
1.
an act or instance of being driven or carried along, as by a current of air or wateror by circumstances
2.
the course on which something is directed or driven
3.
the deviation of a ship, airplane, rocket, etc. from its path, caused by side currents or winds
4.
a.
the velocity of a current of water
b.
a slow ocean current
5.
a.
a gradual shifting in position
b.
a random course, variation, or deviation
6.
a gradual movement or change in some direction or toward some end or purpose; trend; tendency
7.
general meaning of what is said or done; intent; tenor
8.
a.
something driven, as rain, snow, or smoke driven before the wind, or floating matter driven by water currents
b.
a heap of snow, sand, etc. piled up by the wind, or floating matter washed ashore
9. US, Electronics
a deviation or variation of a quantity, as voltage, from its assigned value
10. Geology
sand, gravel, boulders, etc. moved and deposited by a glacier or by water arising from its melting ice
11. Linguistics
a gradual change along a certain line of development in the various elements of alanguage
12. Mechanics
a.
a tool used for ramming or driving down a heavy object
b.
a tool for enlarging or shaping holes
13. Mining
a.
a horizontal passageway driven into or along the path of a vein or rock layer
b.
a small tunnel connecting two larger shafts
verb intransitive
14.
to be carried along by or as by a current
15.
to be carried along by circumstances; go along aimlessly
16.
to wander about from place to place, from job to job, etc.
17.
to accumulate in heaps by force of wind or water
18.
to become heaped with drifting snow, sand, etc.
19.
to move easily or gradually away from a set position
20. US and West
to range far afield in a drove, as in seeking pasture or escaping a storm
said of cattle
verb transitive
21.
to cause to drift
22.
to cover with drifts
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈtendency, wash
Idioms:
drift apart
Derived forms
drifter (ˈdrifter)
noun
Word origin
ME (akin to ON & MDu drift, OHG trift) < OE drifan, drive
drift in the Oil and Gas Industry
(drɪft)
Word forms: (regular plural) drifts
noun
(Extractive engineering: Field development, Drilling)
A drift is the degree to which a wellbore is not vertical.
The drift is the inclination of the wellbore from the vertical at the point of reference.
The extent to which the wellbore deviates from a truly vertical line is commonlycalled the drift of the well.
A drift is the degree to which a wellbore is not vertical.
Examples of 'drift' in a sentence
drift
Was it drifting too far across the posts?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Tell your wife you worry you are drifting apart.
The Sun (2016)
He drifted apart from those who loved him the most.
The Sun (2017)
The real problem here is that you and your husband have drifted apart since he lost his managerial job.
The Sun (2016)
You get that for drifting slightly above a 30mph speed limit.
The Sun (2016)
You grasp at it, only for it to dissolve or drift away.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Instead of letting a relationship drift along, it is time to set new goals.
The Sun (2016)
If they don't learn lessons and have humility to adapt they will drift away.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Farmers who chose to stay with their livestock through the winter have moved into caravans, some of which were completely buried by snow drifts this week.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
It makes him far more difficult to combat as he drifts this way and that.
The Sun (2012)
Maybe not that one but you get my drift.
The Sun (2014)
The one time the emphasis had drifted too far into introspection.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The visitors to the library of my childhood drifted away.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The general drift is still to view an away match as a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The balloons drift on air currents more than twice the height of commercial aircraft.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
She drifted from one job disaster to another.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Toxic smoke drifts into the air as citizens burn their waste on the hard shoulders.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It is a raft which has been drifting for weeks along the coastline of discredit.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The drift of our conversation was cynical and despairing.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You can get the family pulling together instead of drifting apart.
The Sun (2014)
No doubt it is possible to insure the nation against deep snow drifts.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
But surely there ought to have been an inquiry given that sort of drift and the way the horse ran.
The Sun (2008)
They drifted off course and they lost their moral compass so badly it was always going to come to a head.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But chaff drifts with the wind.
Admiral Sandy Woodward, With Patrick Robinson ONE HUNDRED DAYS (2003)
The others gradually drifted off, leaving me alone with the goodlooking guy.
The Sun (2008)
But its audience is being drawn away by the internet, and advertisers are following the drift.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
At this point you drifted out on to coral near the surface of the sea, seriously hurting your legs.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She drifted in one direction, and he was borne off in another, both cheering.
J.M. Barrie Peter Pan (1911)
Furthermore, what has happened to four-wheel drift?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Sadly, I see signs that we might be drifting in that direction.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In other languages
drift
British English: drift /drɪft/ NOUN
A drift is a movement away from somewhere or something, or a movement towards somewhere or something different.
...the drift towards the cities.
American English: drift
Arabic: اِنْـجِرَاف
Brazilian Portuguese: deriva
Chinese: 漂流
Croatian: nanos
Czech: unášení proudem
Danish: drive
Dutch: verplaatsing
European Spanish: marcha significado
Finnish: kinos
French: dérive
German: Verwehung
Greek: μετατόπιση
Italian: moto
Japanese: 押し流されるもの
Korean: 표류
Norwegian: drive
Polish: dryf
European Portuguese: coisa flutuante
Romanian: deplasare
Russian: перемещение
Latin American Spanish: flujo
Swedish: drift
Thai: เร่ร่อน
Turkish: uzaklaşma
Ukrainian: дрейф
Vietnamese: sự trôi dạt
British English: drift /drɪft/ VERB
When something drifts somewhere, it is carried there by the wind or by water.
Mist drifted across the water.
American English: drift
Arabic: يَنْجَرِفُ
Brazilian Portuguese: ser levado pela correnteza
Chinese: 漂流
Croatian: biti nošen
Czech: být unášen proudem
Danish: drive
Dutch: afdrijven
European Spanish: ir a la deriva
Finnish: ajelehtia
French: dériver
German: treiben
Greek: περιφέρομαι
Italian: trascinare
Japanese: 漂流する
Korean: 떠돌다
Norwegian: drive
Polish: zanieść z prądem
European Portuguese: ser levado pela corrente
Romanian: a se deplasa
Russian: дрейфовать
Latin American Spanish: ir a la deriva
Swedish: driva föras bort
Thai: ลอย
Turkish: sürüklenmek sularla
Ukrainian: дрейфувати
Vietnamese: trôi dạt
All related terms of 'drift'
drift ice
masses of ice floating in the open sea
drift net
a large fishing net supported by floats or attached to a drifter that is allowed to drift with the tide or current
drift off
If you drift off to sleep , you gradually fall asleep .
drift apart
to gradually lose interest in or affection for each other
drift mine
a mine the opening of which is dug into an outcrop of coal or ore
drift tube
a hollow cylindrical electrode to which a radio-frequency voltage is applied in a linear accelerator
wage drift
the change in the amount by which actual earnings exceed negotiated earnings
drift anchor
→ sea anchor
genetic drift
in evolution ,
longshore drift
the process whereby beach material is gradually shifted laterally as a result of waves meeting the shore at an oblique angle
continental drift
Continental drift is the slow movement of the Earth's continents towards and away from each other.
drift transistor
a transistor in which the impurity concentration in the base increases from the collector-base junction to the emitter-base junction, producing a resistivity gradient that greatly increases its high-frequency response
North Atlantic Drift
the warm ocean current flowing northeast , under the influence of prevailing winds , from the Gulf of Mexico towards NW Europe and warming its climate
go with the stream
to conform to the accepted standards
Chinese translation of 'drift'
drift
(drɪft)
vi
[boat]漂流 (piāoliú)
[sand, snow, mist]飘(飄)散 (piāosàn)
n
(c)[snow]吹积(積)物 (chuījīwù) (堆, duī)
(s/u) (= movement) (of people) 迁(遷)移 (qiānyí)
(s) (= meaning) 大意 (dàyì)
to drift away[crowd, people]散去 (sànqù)
to drift apart[friends, couple]疏远(遠) (shūyuǎn)
to drift into[crime, prostitution]不知不觉(覺)地陷入 (bù zhī bù jué de xiànrù)
to get or follow sb's drift明白某人的大意 (míngbai mǒurén de dàyì)
to get or follow the drift of sth明白某事的大意 (míngbai mǒushì de dàyì)