DRIFT

I. noun see: drive Date: 14th century 1. the act of driving something along, the flow or the velocity of the current of a river or ocean stream, something driven, propelled, or urged along or drawn together in a clump by or as if by a natural agency: as, wind-driven snow, rain, cloud, dust, or smoke usually at or near the ground surface, b. a mass of matter (as sand) deposited together by or as if by wind or water, a helter-skelter accumulation, drove , flock , something (as ~wood) washed ashore, rock debris deposited by natural agents, 3. a general underlying design or tendency , the underlying meaning, import, or purport of what is spoken or written , something (as a tool) driven down upon or forced into a body, the motion or action of ~ing especially spatially and usually under external influence: as, the lateral motion of an aircraft due to air currents, an easy moderate more or less steady flow or sweep along a spatial course, a gradual shift in attitude, opinion, or position, an aimless course, a deviation from a true reproduction, representation, or reading, 6. a nearly horizontal mine passageway driven on or parallel to the course of a vein or rock stratum, a small crosscut in a mine connecting two larger tunnels, 7. an assumed trend toward a general change in the structure of a language over a period of time, genetic ~ , a mass of planted flowers, see: tendency ~y adjective II. verb Date: circa 1600 intransitive verb 1. to become driven or carried along (as by a current of water, wind, or air) , to move or float smoothly and effortlessly, 2. to move along a line of least resistance, to move in a random or casual way, to become carried along subject to no guidance or control , 3. to accumulate in a mass or become piled up in heaps by wind or water , to become covered with a ~, to vary or deviate from a set course or adjustment, transitive verb 1. to cause to be driven in a current, to drive (livestock) slowly especially to allow grazing, 2. to pile in heaps, to cover with ~s, ~ingly adverb