[noun] [C]The snow lay at the side of the road in deep drifts (= piles formed by the wind).A drift is also a general development or change in a situation.The talks are the latest attempt to halt the drift towards full-scale war.The downward drift in copper prices looks set to continue.
DRIFT
Meaning of DRIFT in English
Cambridge English vocab. Кембриджский английский словарь. 2012