drift
Other forms: drifted; drifting; drifts
If you get my drift, you get the basic meaning of what I'm saying. Or, if you move around without a seeming fixed destination, you are said to drift — whether you're a snowflake or just a wanderer.
Interestingly, the verb to drift can be used either approvingly or disapprovingly. We rather admire the freedom of certain objects that drift, such as snow drifts or drift wood, but applied to people we're a bit more critical: we tend to harbor suspicions of the carefree Gypsy or nomad, hence the moral criticism (and danger) inherent in the term drifters.
Definitions of drift
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be in motion due to some air or water current“the boat drifted on the lake”“the shipwrecked boat drifted away from the shore”
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float
move lightly, as if suspended
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float
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cause to be carried by a current
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drive slowly and far afield for grazing
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a force that moves something along
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wander from a direct course or at random“don't drift from the set course”
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vary or move from a fixed point or course“stock prices are drifting higher”
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type of:
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vary
be subject to change in accordance with a variable
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vary
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be subject to fluctuation“The stock market drifted upward”
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type of:
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change
undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
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change
-
a general tendency to change (as of opinion)
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types:
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evolutionary trend
a general direction of evolutionary change
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gravitation
a figurative movement toward some attraction
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neoteny
an evolutionary trend to be born earlier so that development is cut off at an earlier stage and juvenile characteristics are retained in adults of the species
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type of:
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disposition, inclination, tendency
an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others
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evolutionary trend
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a process of linguistic change over a period of time
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types:
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melioration
the linguistic process in which over a period of time a word grows more positive in connotation or more elevated in meaning
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type of:
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linguistic process
a process involved in human language
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melioration
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the gradual departure from an intended course due to external influences (as a ship or plane)
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types:
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leeway
(of a ship or plane) sideways drift
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type of:
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action, activity, natural action, natural process
a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings)
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leeway
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move in an unhurried fashion
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live unhurriedly, irresponsibly, or freely
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move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment“the laborers drift from one town to the next”
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be piled up in banks or heaps by the force of wind or a current“snow drifting several feet high”“sand drifting like snow”
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type of:
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accumulate, amass, conglomerate, cumulate, gather, pile up
collect or gather
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accumulate, amass, conglomerate, cumulate, gather, pile up
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a large mass of material that is heaped up by the wind or by water currents
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the pervading meaning or tenor
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a horizontal (or nearly horizontal) passageway in a mine“they dug a drift parallel with the vein”
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type of:
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passageway
a passage between rooms or between buildings
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passageway
Pronunciation
US
/drɪft/
UK
/drɪft/
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘drift'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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