I. ˈdrift noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English; akin to Middle Dutch drift herd, ford, Middle High German trift driving, pasturage, Old Norse drift snowdrift; derivative from the root of Old English drīfan to drive — more at drive
1. : the act of driving something along: as
a. : the driving together of the cattle in a forest to determine ownership — used in British forest law
b. : the horizontal thrust of an arch
c. : continued movement of a machine due to inertia after the shutoff of power
d. : a skid of a motor vehicle : sideslip
e. : the flow of the velocity of the current of a river or ocean stream
2. : something driven, propelled, or urged along or drawn together in a clump by or as if by a natural agency: as
a. : wind-driven snow, rain, cloud, dust, or smoke usually at or near the ground surface
watched the drifts of rain moving up the valley — E.L.Thomas
b.
(1) : a mass of matter driven or forced onward together in a body or deposited together by or as if by wind or water
scudding over drifts on skis
harbor drift collects in streaks
(2) : a helter-skelter accumulation of something appearing as if windblown
a drift of newspapers around his feet
(3) : something filmy or fleecy fluttering or undulating lightly in masses or folds as if afloat in a breeze or on water
as the beach plums dapple our dunes and fields with snowy drifts — Christian Science Monitor
putting away the drifts of muslin and curd-soft silk — Edith Sitwell
c. dialect : drove , flock
a drift of coyotes cried at moonrise
a drift of hogs
a steady drift of terns could be seen on a northeasterly course — Llewellyn Howland
also West : a casual assemblage or swarm of persons
some of the newly arrived drift were smooth-spoken gentry — Julian Dana
d. : a volley of arrows especially when aimed high in air
e. : something (as driftwood or seaweed) that has been washed ashore by waves and tide and left stranded
hauled himself out on a dry bit of drift — Frederick Way
strolling the sands … searching for drift that he might turn to a profit — Morris Markey
f. : a set of fishnets ; also : drift net
g.
(1) : rock debris moved by natural agents from one place and deposited in another
(2) : a deposit of clay, sand, gravel, and boulders transported by a glacier and deposited unstratified or more or less stratified by running water emanating from the glacier — compare till IX 2
h. : something wafted by gentle air currents to be caught by the senses
a drift of woodsmoke curled up — Ellen Glasgow
it submerged entirely the drift of far-off band music — J.G.Cozzens
a faint drift of the clean, light scent that she had always used — Robert Murphy
3. : observable course or direction taken toward an effect: as
a. : a general underlying and inferable design and intent (as of thought, policy, or program)
we see the drift of his thought in the manuscripts — R.I.Aaron
the whole drift of his social philosophy — W.L.Miller
in agreement with the temper and main drift of his naturalism — J.E.Smith
b. : tendency discernible in the past and present course
until the time the upward drift in the propensity to spend should level off
in this survey of the drift of 20th century poetry — Herbert Read
often : development, progress, or evolution whose general course is assumed to be impersonally determined and continuous into the future
while reasoning on this matter is somewhat a priori, the drift of history and archaeology confirms it — A.L.Kroeber
to combat disease, pestilence, prolong the span of life — all these mean a fight against the drift of Nature — Mildred Gilman
c. : prevalent learning or dominant inclination in the current thought and opinion : slant
the drift being on the whole away from the home toward the church — W.L.Sperry
d. : the meaning, import, or purport to be gathered from what is spoken or written
made out the drift of a conversation going on round me — A.W.Long
maybe they understand you better in the town you come from, but I don't get your drift — Maxwell Anderson
e. : trend (as of a rate) especially when fluctuating
the upward drift of respiration in a germinating seed
4. : something driven down upon or forced into a body: as
a. : a tool used for ramming down or driving something (as a metal wedge used in tightening hoops on a barrel)
b. obsolete : piles sunk in an interlocking row
c. : the difference between the size of a bolt and the hole into which it is driven or between the circumference of a hoop and that of a mast on which it is to be driven
d. : a place in an old-fashioned deep-waisted ship where the sheer was raised and the rail was cut off and usually terminated by a scroll
e. or driftpin ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ : a broach or reamer of square section and with one or more cutting faces for cleaning out holes too small to be drilled and slotted — called also cutting drift, square drift
f. : a tool used in charging the case of a firework (as a rocket)
g. or driftpin : a smooth tapered pin resembling a punch for stretching rivet holes and bringing them into alignment — called also smooth-taper drift
h. : a punch with the point inclined to the shank for knocking out keys — called also key drift
5. : the motion or action of drifting spatially usually under external influence
distal drift of all lower teeth to the right of the lower central incisor — H.M.Lang
as
a. : the deviation of a ship from its set course caused by currents ; also : a voyage of a ship allowed to drift
the icebreaker carried out its three regular annual drifts
b. : the length of a seaman's rope from a point where it is made fast whether stretching to another point of fastening, remaining loose or coiled as an extra length, or running from the fixed block to the movable block of a tackle
c. : one of the slower movements of oceanic circulation : a general tendency of surface water subject to diversion or reversal by the wind
the easterly drift of the North Pacific
— see current table
d. : a deviation of a missle out of a rifled gun from the vertical plane of fire due to rotation and the resistance of the air
e. : the lateral motion of an airplane due to air currents ; also : drift angle
f. : tendency to alter and especially to decrease in weight during shipment ; also : the amount by which the weight is altered
g. : creep 8b
h. : the distance cargo in the hold of a ship has to be dragged to a hatch
i. : an easy moderate more or less steady flow, sweep, or shifting along a spatial course
aerial drift of pollen
the general drift of population from country to city — H.C.Laxson
the industrial drift southward
any drift of our solar system in our galaxy — N.E.Nelson
j. : a slow onward, upward, or downward course (as an advance, transition, or withdrawl) proceeding usually by inconspicuous steps : a gradual shift in attitude, opinion, or position not pronounced in process but unmistakable in direction
a drift to war
the drift toward centralization of power
the gradual drift of wealth from farm to industry — S.A.Spiller
this steady drift away from the conception of a divine Will that dwarfed the human will — V.L.Parrington
signs he sees of a dangerous drift in American life away from standards of excellence in politics — William Barrett
k. : an aimless directionless course ; often : a foregoing of any attempt at direction or control letting events and developments take their own course : abdication of control to a blind flow of circumstances
vigorous local action, moreover, can reverse the policy of drift which has seen local government denuded of function after function, largely by default — R.V.Presthus
to continue the policy of drift , of blind stumblings from crisis to crisis — Time
l. : a deviation or veering off from a true reproduction, representation, or reading
frequency drift is merely the inability of the set to remain exactly tuned to the frequency for which you have adjusted it — Pilots' Radio Handbook
6. : a passage driven or for driving in a particular direction: as
a. : a nearly horizontal mine passageway driven on or parallel to the course of a vein or rock stratum — compare level 8
b. : a small crosscut in a mine connecting two larger tunnels ; also : an exploratory mine tunnel
c.
[Afrikaans, from Dutch, from Middle Dutch]
Africa : a ford in a river
7. : a slow gradual change in character, aspect, or some attendant phenomenon: as
a. : an assumed trend toward a general change in the structure of a language over a period of time underlying or revealed by various specific changes
the drift toward loss of final syllables in the Germanic languages
b. : change in genotypes of small populations due to random loss or multiplication of certain gene groups
c. : a gradual change in the zero reading of an instrument or more generally in any quantitative characteristic of a given piece of equipment that is supposed to remain constant
d. : a gradual change in some aspect of culture deriving from an accumulated variation in behavior or belief and resulting in a new pattern or institutional form
a cultural drift away from spiritual values to materialistic ones
Synonyms: see tendency
•
- on the drift
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to become driven or carried along by a current of water, wind, or air
can drift in a canoe the 30 miles from the falls — American Guide Series: Minnesota
with the tide at the ebb he was drifting in those dark depths out through the Golden Gate — P.B.Kyne
a wisp of smoke drifting from the chimney
rain fell at intervals from drifting shreds of clouds — O.E.Rölvaag
an evasive and delicate fragrance drifted from her person — Agnes S. Turnbull
also : to move gently and silently without propulsion often floating or gliding along along through the air with slight quivering motions
a solitary leaf drifts down
b. : to wander or stray lightly, gently, effortlessly offering no resistance as if suspended and floating in the air and usually seeming to leave the choice of direction to the drift of the air
let my eyes drift around the room — R.Y.Thurman
a very faint smile drifted across his face — Raymond Chandler
it is only by drifting with the wind that I have found myself — John Reed
also : to float through the air in mild and soothing or vibrant waves of sound
the corporal's voice sounded deceptively kind drifting in from across the North Parade Ground — Earle Birney
street noises that drift through closed windows and doors
c. : to move slowly and unhurriedly with little or no apparent effort or unobtrusively a few at a time in a manner suggestive of floating on water — usually followed by a directional word
strikers began to drift back to work
the orchestra stopped playing and dancers drifted off the floor
he'd drift with play and make the quarterback commit himself, then make the tackle either way — H.R.Sanders
also : to migrate in a slow stream
other revolving soldiers … drifted out to Colorado, Wyoming, Montana — Dixon Wecter
d. : to pass without contributory effort or serious resistance or become borne slowly by imperceptible degrees toward or away from an association or into or out of some state
he ran with a gang and drifted into petty crime — S.L.A.Marshall
those dreamy spells of hers, the way she used to go drifting off into space — Hamilton Basso
the chances are that Asia will gradually drift toward Communism — K.S.Latourette
written and spoken languages tend to drift ever further apart — Frank Denman
e. : to retain momentum for a time after shutoff of power
2.
a. : to wander without hurry and without clear purpose or goal especially moving along the line of least resistance
he drifted around for eight years without a trace of his whereabouts — Liam O'Flaherty
loved best to drift , elusive as a skeleton leaf along the streets of Rome — Elinor Wylie
b. West , of cattle : to bunch up and wander from the home range in a storm
c. : to travel about in a random way as an itinerant workman or in search of work
d. : to become carried along subject to no guidance or control
whether this conversation was drifting or aimed, certain that it was out of his hands — Edmund Fuller
often : to relinquish planning, decision, initiative, and conscious direction leaving control to chance or circumstances
allowing students to drift through four years without developing sufficient incentive or goal — Bulletin of Bates College
3.
a. : to accumulate in a mass or be piled up in heaps by action of wind or water
drifting snow banked in the side of the house up to the windowsills
miles of fence had already been buried under drifted dust — K.S.Davis
an old hulk far out on the beach fast filling with drifting sand at every high tide
b. : to become covered with a drift
the streets drifted level with the marquees of the buildings — William Fifield
4. mining : to make a drift : drive
5. : to fish with drift nets
6.
a. : to vary or deviate from a set course or adjustment
some television sets drift during warmup require retuning
b. : to vary sluggishly usually without establishing a definite trend — used especially of prices or income
its freight revenues drifted down more than 14 percent last year — R.E.Bedingfield
the market has been drifting the last few days, probably because of the approaching holidays
grain futures drifted in a narrow range
c. : skid
7. of a language : to develop in the direction characteristic of its drift
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cause to be driven in a current
the tide turning began drifting back the ship helplessly seaward — Herman Melville
a smudge drifting smoke across their beds to keep insects away — B.A.Williams
b. West : to drive (livestock) slowly especially to allow grazing
leaving orders for the outfit to drift the herd into it and water — Andy Adams
2.
a. : to drive by the force of the wind and deposit in heaps
heavy clay when granulated is readily drifted — A.F.Gustafson
b. : to cover with drifts
southwestern slopes were deeply drifted
3. : to use a drift in or upon (as for enlarging holes, forcing holes into alignment, driving out pins and keys)
4. : to cant (as a pole) over at the top