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   drift

   /drɪft/

   verb

   • 1. be carried slowly by a current of air or water: "the cabin cruiser started to drift downstream" Similar be carriedbe carried (away/along)be bornebe waftedfloatbobmove slowlygo with the currentcoastmeander
   • ▪ walk slowly, aimlessly, or casually: "people began to drift away"
   • ▪ move passively, aimlessly, or involuntarily into a certain situation or condition: "I've just drifted into things because they were offered to me and they seemed like fun"
   • ▪ (of a person or their attention) digress or stray to another subject: "I noticed my audience's attention drifting" Similar straydigressdepartdivergeveerswervedeviateget sidetrackedrare:divagate
   • 2. (especially of snow or leaves) be blown into heaps by the wind: "fallen leaves were starting to drift in the gutters" Similar pile upbank upheap upaccumulategatherform heaps/driftsamass

   noun

   • 1. a continuous slow movement from one place to another: "there was a drift to the towns" Similar movementshiftflowtransfertransferralrelocationgravitation
   • ▪ the deviation of a vessel, aircraft, or projectile from its intended or expected course as the result of currents or winds: "the pilot had not noticed any appreciable drift" Similar deviationdigressionveeringstraying
   • ▪ a steady movement or development from one thing towards another that is perceived as unwelcome: "the drift towards a more market-oriented system of higher education"
   • ▪ a state of inaction or indecision: "after so much drift, any expression of enthusiasm is welcome"
   • ▪ a controlled skid, used in taking bends at high speeds.
   • 2. the general intention or meaning of an argument or someone's remarks: "maybe I'm too close to the forest to see the trees, if you catch my drift" Similar gistessencecoremeaningsensethesissubstancesignificancesignificationthrustimportpurporttenorveinspiritimplicationintentiondirectioncoursetendencytrend
   • 3. a large mass of snow, leaves, or other material piled up or carried along by the wind: "four sheep were dug out of the drift" Similar pileheapbankmoundmassaccumulationduneridge
   • ▪ glacial and fluvioglacial deposits left by retreating ice sheets.
   • ▪ a large spread of flowering plants growing together: "a drift of daffodils"
   • 4. a horizontal or inclined passage following a mineral vein or coal seam: "the drift led to another smaller ore chamber"
   • 5. an act of driving cattle or sheep. historical British
   • ▪ an act of herding cattle within a forest to a particular place on an appointed day in order to determine ownership or to levy fines.
   • 6. a ford. South African

   Word Origin Middle English (in the sense ‘mass of snow, leaves, etc.’): originally from Old Norse drift ‘snowdrift, something driven’; in later use from Middle Dutch drift ‘course, current’, and (in drift (sense 6 of the noun)) South African Dutch drift ‘ford’; related to drive.

   Derivatives

   • 1. drifty adjective

   Scrabble Points: 9

   • D

     2

   • R

     1

   • I

     1

   • F

     4

   • T

     1

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