n.
Function: intransitive verb
Date: circa 1600
1 a : to become driven or carried along (as by a current of water, wind, or air) <a balloon drift ing in the wind> b : to move or float smoothly and effortlessly
2 a : to move along a line of least resistance b : to move in a random or casual way c : to become carried along subject to no guidance or control <the talk drift ed from topic to topic>
3 a : to accumulate in a mass or become piled up in heaps by wind or water < drift ing snow> b : to become covered with a drift
4 : to vary or deviate from a set course or adjustment
transitive verb
1 a : to cause to be driven in a current b West : to drive (livestock) slowly especially to allow grazing
2 a : to pile in heaps b : to cover with drifts
– drift · ing · ly \ ' drif-ti ŋ -l ē \ adverb