v.
- be carried slowly by a current of air or water.
- walk slowly or casually.
▸move aimlessly or involuntarily into a certain situation or condition:
Lewis and his father drifted apart.
- (chiefly of snow) be blown into heaps by the wind.
n.
- a continuous slow movement from one place to another.
▸deviation from an intended course because of currents or winds.
▸Motor Racing a controlled skid, used in taking bends at high speeds.
▸Brit. historical an act of driving cattle or sheep.
- the general meaning of someone's remarks:
he didn't understand much Greek, but he got her drift.
- a large mass of snow or other material piled up by the wind.
▸Geology deposits left by retreating ice sheets.
- a state of inaction or indecision.
- Mining a passage following a mineral vein or coal seam.
- S. African a ford.
Derivative
Etymology
ME: orig. from ON drift ‘snowdrift, something driven’; in later use from MDu. drift ‘course, current’, rel. to drive.