¦ verb
1. be carried slowly by a current of air or water.
2. walk slowly or casually.
move aimlessly or involuntarily into a certain situation or condition: Lewis and his father drifted apart.
3. (chiefly of snow) be blown into heaps by the wind.
¦ noun
1. 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.
2. the general meaning of someone's remarks: he didn't understand much Greek, but he got her drift.
3. a large mass of snow or other material piled up by the wind.
Geology deposits left by retreating ice sheets.
4. a state of inaction or indecision.
5. Mining a passage following a mineral vein or coal seam.
6. S. African a ford.
Derivatives
drifty adjective
Origin
ME: orig. from ON
drift 'snowdrift, something driven'; in later use from MDu.
drift 'course, current', related to
drive.