Definition of: drift

(drift) noun
1. That which is driven or carried onward by a current: a drift of clouds across the sky.
2. A heap of any matter piled up by wind or sea.
3. A course along which or an end toward which anything moves on; tendency; meaning: the drift of a discourse.
4. A driving; an urgent force; hence, controlling power or influence.
5. A number of objects moving onward by one force; especially, anything floating or moving with the current of a river or stream, as logs, trees, etc.; driftwood.
6. A ford.
7. The fact or condition of being driven; the action of drifting.
8. A boring tool.
9. Geol. Material which has been transported by moving masses of ice or by running water created by glaciers, and deposited over portions of the earth's surface.
10. Mining A horizontal or nearly horizontal passage in a mine; also, the direction of a passage or gallery.
11. The direction of a current.
12. Naut. Leeway; the distance which a vessel is driven from her direct course by wind or sea or other causes.
13. A fishing net that drifts with the tide; a drift net.
14. Aeron. The angular difference between the long axis of an aircraft and the line of its flight path: also drift angle.
15. The movement of a herd of cattle, as before a storm. See synonyms under HEAP, INCLINATION, PURPOSE, STREAM.
—v.t.
1. To carry along, as on a current.
2. To cause to pile up in heaps, as snow or sand.
—v.i.
3. To float or be carried along, as by a current.
4. To wander.
5. To accumulate in heaps. [ME <OE drīfan drive]