[
US
/ˈdɹɪft/
]
[ UK /dɹˈɪft/ ]
[ UK /dɹˈɪft/ ]
NOUN
- the gradual departure from an intended course due to external influences (as a ship or plane)
- a force that moves something along
-
a horizontal (or nearly horizontal) passageway in a mine
they dug a drift parallel with the vein - a large mass of material that is heaped up by the wind or by water currents
- a process of linguistic change over a period of time
-
the pervading meaning or tenor
caught the general drift of the conversation -
a general tendency to change (as of opinion)
a broad movement of the electorate to the right
not openly liberal but that is the trend of the book
VERB
-
be in motion due to some air or water current
The leaves were blowing in the wind
the boat drifted on the lake
the shipwrecked boat drifted away from the shore
The sailboat was adrift on the open sea -
be piled up in banks or heaps by the force of wind or a current
sand drifting like snow
snow drifting several feet high -
live unhurriedly, irresponsibly, or freely
My son drifted around for years in California before going to law school -
vary or move from a fixed point or course
stock prices are drifting higher -
wander from a direct course or at random
The child strayed from the path and her parents lost sight of her
don't drift from the set course -
cause to be carried by a current
drift the boats downstream -
move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
The cattle roam across the prairie
They rolled from town to town
The gypsies roamed the woods
roving vagabonds
the laborers drift from one town to the next
the wandering Jew -
drive slowly and far afield for grazing
drift the cattle herds westwards -
move in an unhurried fashion
The unknown young man drifted among the invited guests -
be subject to fluctuation
The stock market drifted upward
How To Use drift In A Sentence
- The remaining three evolutionary forces are nonadaptive in the sense that they are not a function of the fitness properties of individuals: mutation is the ultimate source of variation on which natural selection acts, recombination assorts variation within and among chromosomes, and genetic drift ensures that gene frequencies will deviate a bit from generation to generation independent of other forces. A Disclaimer for Behe?
- There are drifts of feverfew, clouds of philadelphus, grasses whispering in the breeze, and everywhere the perfume of 1,000 blossoms keeping the countryside alive in the heart of London.
- I've got to make a couple of very hard decisions on a daily basis instead of taking the easy drifty way out.
- Born in an American Stalinist medical facility**** to foreign parents, he spent his early years nomadically, drifting from country to country***** as his feckless father moved the family in search of lasting employment******. Support Al Kemal for Mayor of London: the People’s Choice! « raincoaster
- They drifted into the control room and floated above the sensor-generated hologram of the “herd. †The “herd†consisted of approximately 3,000 mountain-sized blocks of ice that once were comet 2P/Encke. 365 tomorrows » 2006 » September : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day
- A voice drifted down through the hatch above our heads, ‘I'm amazed,’ it said. ‘Only three people have chundered so far.’
- There is a slow drift into crisis.
- Adopting, the additional computative burden imposed by it notwithstanding, Schonfeld's modification of Airy's formulæ, he introduced into his equations a fifth unknown quantity expressive of a possible stellar drift in galactic longitude. Scientific American Supplement, No. 829, November 21, 1891
- I was madly scrambling into my drysuit while Bill got the details from the divers, who had been drifting with this group for an hour or so.
- a drifting double-dealer
