drift
verb
[ drɪft ]
• be carried slowly by a current of air or water.
• "the cabin cruiser started to drift downstream"
Similar:
be carried,
be carried (away/along),
be borne,
be wafted,
float,
bob,
move slowly,
go with the current,
coast,
meander,
• (especially of snow or leaves) be blown into heaps by the wind.
• "fallen leaves were starting to drift in the gutters"
drift
noun
• a continuous slow movement from one place to another.
• "there was a drift to the towns"
• 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:
gist,
essence,
core,
meaning,
sense,
thesis,
substance,
significance,
signification,
thrust,
import,
purport,
tenor,
vein,
spirit,
implication,
intention,
direction,
course,
tendency,
trend,
• 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"
• a horizontal or inclined passage following a mineral vein or coal seam.
• "the drift led to another smaller ore chamber"
• an act of driving cattle or sheep.
• a ford.
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.
