I. drift 1 /drɪft/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
1 . MOVE SLOWLY to move slowly on water or in the air
drift out/towards etc
The rubber raft drifted out to sea.
Smoke drifted up from the jungle ahead of us.
2 . WITHOUT PLAN to move, change, or do something without any plan or purpose
drift around/along etc
Jenni spent the year drifting around Europe.
drift into
I just drifted into teaching, really.
drift away
The others drifted away. Melanie stayed.
drift from something to something
The conversation drifted from one topic to another.
let your gaze/eyes/thoughts/mind etc drift
Idly she let her eyes drift over his desk.
3 . CHANGE to gradually change from being in one condition, situation etc into another without realizing it
drift into
She was just drifting into sleep when the alarm went off.
He drifted in and out of consciousness.
4 . MONEY/PRICES if values, prices, ↑ share s etc drift, they gradually change:
The dollar drifted lower against the yen today.
5 . SNOW/SAND if snow, sand etc drifts, the wind blows it into large piles
6 . let something drift to allow something, especially something bad, to continue in the same way:
He couldn’t let the matter drift for much longer.
drift apart phrasal verb
if people drift apart, their relationship gradually ends:
Over the years my college friends and I have drifted apart.
drift off phrasal verb
to gradually fall asleep:
I was just drifting off when the phone rang.
He felt himself drifting off to sleep.
II. drift 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: Probably from Old Norse drift 'pile of wind-blown snow' ; related to drive ]
1 . SNOW/SAND [countable] a large pile of snow or sand that has been blown by the wind
drift of
The road is blocked with massive drifts of snow.
a snow drift
2 . CHANGE [singular] a slow change or development from one situation, opinion etc to another
drift towards/to
a drift towards longer working hours
3 . MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE [singular, uncountable] a slow movement of large numbers of people that has not been planned
drift from/to/into
the drift from the countryside to the cities
4 . the drift (of something) the general meaning of what someone is saying:
So what’s the drift of the argument?
follow/get/catch sb’s drift (=understand the general meaning of what someone is saying)
She didn’t quite get my drift, did she?
5 . SHIPS/PLANES [uncountable] the movement of a ship or plane from its original direction because of the movement of the wind or water
6 . SLOW MOVEMENT [uncountable] very slow movement, especially over water or through the air