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Another word for drift

a-z
Verb

  1. To move along with or be carried away by the action of water

      1. To cleanse, using water or other liquid, usually with soap, detergent, or bleach, by immersing, dipping, rubbing, or scrubbing:
      2. To soak, rinse out, and remove (dirt or stain) with water or other liquid:
      3. To make moist or wet; drench:
      1. To remain suspended within or on the surface of a fluid without sinking.
      2. To be suspended in or move through space as if supported by a liquid.
      3. To move from place to place, especially at random.
    See also:

    move

  2. To pass smoothly, quietly, and undisturbed on or as if on a slippery surface

      1. To move over a surface while maintaining smooth continuous contact.
      2. To participate in a sport that involves such movement:
      3. To lose a secure footing or positioning; slip:
      1. Land next to the sea; the seashore.
      2. The water near this land:
      3. The Pacific coast of the United States.
    See also:

    move

  3. To move about at random, especially over a wide area

      1. To move about without a definite destination or purpose.
      2. To go by an indirect route or at no set pace; amble:
      3. To proceed in an irregular course; meander:
      1. To walk or tramp about; gad:
      2. To walk or tramp over or about:
      3. A tiring walk.
      1. To move away from a group, deviate from a course, or escape from established limits:
      2. To move without a destination or purpose; wander:
      3. To be directed without apparent purpose; look in an idle or casual manner:
      1. To wander about, especially over a wide area; roam.
      2. To be directed without apparent purpose; look in an idle or casual manner:
      3. To roam or wander around, over, or through:
      1. To move about without purpose or plan; wander.
      2. To turn the attention from one subject to another with little clarity or coherence of thought:
      3. To move or pass over the body:
      1. A number or grouping of things in the same category or within specified limits:
      2. An amount or extent of variation:
      3. The gamut of tones that a voice or instrument is capable of producing.
      1. To move about aimlessly:
      2. To walk casually or leisurely:
      3. To follow an irregularly winding course of motion or growth:
      1. To journey or travel from place to place, especially on foot.
      2. To travel through or over; traverse.
      1. To follow a winding and turning course:
      2. To move aimlessly and idly without fixed direction:
      3. To speak or write in sustained fashion on a number of loosely connected topics.
      1. To roam about in search of pleasure or amusement.
      2. To play around amorously; flirt.
      1. To move about restlessly or with little purpose, especially in search of pleasure or amusement.
    See also:

    move

  4. To put into a disordered pile

      1. A large, usually conical pile of straw or fodder arranged for outdoor storage.
      2. An orderly pile, especially one arranged in layers:
      3. A section of memory and its associated registers used for temporary storage of information in which the item most recently stored is the first to be retrieved.
      1. A quantity of objects stacked or thrown together in a heap.
      2. A large accumulation or quantity:
      3. A large amount of money:
      1. A pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris heaped for protection or concealment.
      2. A natural elevation, such as a small hill.
      3. A group of things collected in a mass or heap:
      1. An irregularly shaped mass or piece.
      2. A small cube of sugar.
      3. A swelling or small palpable mass.
      1. A well-defined natural elevation smaller than a mountain.
      2. A small heap, pile, or mound.
      3. A mound of earth piled around and over a plant.
      1. A group of things placed or thrown, one on top of the other:
      2. A great deal; a lot:
      3. An old or run-down car.
      1. A piled-up mass, as of snow or clouds; a heap:
      2. A steep natural incline.
      3. An artificial embankment.
    See also:

    order

Noun

  1. A group of things gathered haphazardly

      1. To perform acrobatic feats such as somersaults, rolls, or twists.
      2. To fall, roll, or move end over end:
      3. To spill, roll out, or emerge in confusion or disorder:
      1. A large, usually conical pile of straw or fodder arranged for outdoor storage.
      2. An orderly pile, especially one arranged in layers:
      3. A section of memory and its associated registers used for temporary storage of information in which the item most recently stored is the first to be retrieved.
      1. A violent collision, impact, or explosion, or the force or movement resulting from this:
      2. Something that suddenly causes emotional distress:
      3. A sudden feeling of distress:
      1. A quantity of objects stacked or thrown together in a heap.
      2. A large accumulation or quantity:
      3. A large amount of money:
      1. A natural elevation of the earth's surface having considerable mass, generally steep sides, and a height greater than that of a hill.
      2. A large heap:
      3. A huge quantity:
      1. A pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris heaped for protection or concealment.
      2. A natural elevation, such as a small hill.
      3. A group of things collected in a mass or heap:
      1. A cluttered, untidy, usually dirty place or condition:
      2. Something that is disorderly or dirty, as a accumulation or heap:
      3. A confused, troubling, or embarrassing condition or situation:
      1. A unified body of matter with no specific shape:
      2. A grouping of individual parts or elements that compose a unified body of unspecified size or quantity:
      3. A large but nonspecific amount or number:
      1. A well-defined natural elevation smaller than a mountain.
      2. A small heap, pile, or mound.
      3. A mound of earth piled around and over a plant.
      1. A group of things placed or thrown, one on top of the other:
      2. A great deal; a lot:
      3. An old or run-down car.
      1. A dense, white, fluffy, flat-based cloud with a multiple rounded top and a well-defined outline, usually formed by the ascent of thermally unstable air masses.
      2. A pile, mound, or heap.
      1. A piled-up mass, as of snow or clouds; a heap:
      2. A steep natural incline.
      3. An artificial embankment.
      1. The act or process of gathering into a mass.
      2. A confused or jumbled mass:
    See also:

    order

  2. Something suggestive of running water

      1. The periodic variation in the surface level of the oceans and of bays, gulfs, inlets, and estuaries, caused by gravitational attraction of the moon and sun.
      2. A specific occurrence of such a variation:
      3. Flood tide.
      1. To rise and move in a billowing or swelling manner.
      2. To roll or be tossed about on waves, as a boat.
      3. To move like advancing waves:
      1. A flow of water in a channel or bed, as a brook, rivulet, or small river.
      2. A steady current in such a flow of water.
      3. A steady current of a fluid.
      1. A sudden flood, rush, or outpouring:
      2. A flash flood.
      3. A freshet resulting from a downpour of rain or melting of snow.
      1. To move swiftly; hurry:
      2. To act with great haste:
      3. To make a sudden or swift attack or charge:
      1. A flow or flowing of a liquid.
      2. The flowing in of the tide.
      3. A continuing movement, especially in large numbers of things:
      1. To move or run smoothly with unbroken continuity, as in the manner characteristic of a fluid.
      2. To issue in a stream; pour forth:
      3. To circulate, as the blood in the body.
      1. An overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry.
      2. A flood tide.
      3. A large amount or number, especially when moving from one place to another:
      1. Belonging to the present time:
      2. Being in progress now:
      3. Passing from one to another; circulating:
    See also:

    move

  3. The general sense or significance, as of an action or statement

      1. The general course or character of something:
      2. The word, phrase, or subject with which the vehicle of a metaphor is identified, as life in
      3. The general meaning; the purport or drift:
      1. That which has mass and occupies space; matter.
      2. A material of a particular kind or constitution.
      3. A drug, chemical, or other material (such as glue) that one is dependent on or uses habitually and that is often illegal or subject to government regulation:
      1. To have or present the often false appearance of being or intending; claim or profess:
      2. Meaning that is presented, intended, or implied; import.
      3. Intention; purpose:
      1. To bring or carry in from an outside source, especially to bring in (goods or materials) from a foreign country for trade or sale.
      2. To receive (data) into one program from another.
      3. To carry or hold the meaning of; signify:
      1. Something that is carried.
      2. Something that is emotionally difficult to bear.
      3. A source of great worry or stress; weight:
      1. The total of two or more quantities; the aggregate.
      2. A number; a sum.
      3. A principal plus its interest, as in a loan.
    Idioms:
    See also:

    meaning

  4. The thread or current of thought uniting or occurring in all the elements of a text or discourse

      1. To push or drive quickly and forcefully:
      2. To cause to project or extend:
      3. To force into a specified condition or situation:
      1. The general course or character of something:
      2. The word, phrase, or subject with which the vehicle of a metaphor is identified, as life in
      3. The general meaning; the purport or drift:
      1. A characteristic likelihood:
      2. A predisposition to think, act, or proceed in a particular way:
      3. A characteristic pattern or point of view:
      1. That which has mass and occupies space; matter.
      2. A material of a particular kind or constitution.
      3. A drug, chemical, or other material (such as glue) that one is dependent on or uses habitually and that is often illegal or subject to government regulation:
      1. To have or present the often false appearance of being or intending; claim or profess:
      2. Meaning that is presented, intended, or implied; import.
      3. Intention; purpose:
      1. The denotation, referent, or idea associated with a word or phrase:
      2. Something that is conveyed or intended, especially by language; sense or significance:
      3. An interpreted goal, intent, or end:
      1. Something that is intended; an aim or purpose.
      2. The state of mind necessary for an act to constitute a crime.
      3. Firmly fixed; concentrated:
      1. Something that is carried.
      2. Something that is emotionally difficult to bear.
      3. A source of great worry or stress; weight:
      1. To direct (a weapon or camera) toward a point.
      2. To direct or propel (an object, such as a ball) toward a point:
      3. To direct toward or intend for a particular goal or group:
    See also:

    meaning

© Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Another word for drift

Noun

  1. A tendency in movement

      1. A force or principle believed to animate living beings.
      2. A force or principle believed to animate humans and often to endure after departing from the body of a person at death; the soul.
      3. The Holy Spirit.
      1. To put in a specified position or arrangement; place:
      2. To put into a specified state:
      3. To cause to begin an action:
      1. A short, light nail with a sharp point and a flat head.
      2. A rope for holding down the weather clew of a course.
      3. A rope for hauling the outer lower corner of a studdingsail to the boom.
      1. A geometric figure formed by a point moving along a fixed direction and the reverse direction.
      2. A thin continuous mark, as that made by a pen, pencil, or brush applied to a surface.
      3. A similar mark cut or scratched into a surface.
      1. The quality or state of being prone, or of bending downward; as, the proneness of beasts is opposed to the erectness of man.
      2. The state of lying with the face down.
      3. Descent; declivity; as, the proneness of a hill.
      1. The manner in which one carries or conducts oneself:
      2. A machine or structural part that supports another part.
      3. A device that supports, guides, and reduces the friction of motion between fixed and moving machine parts.
      1. One's usual mood; temperament:
      2. A habitual inclination; a tendency:
      3. A physical property or tendency:
      1. An innate inclination; a tendency.
      1. To direct the course of; manage or control:
      2. To lead or guide:
      3. To direct the performance of (an orchestra or chorus, for example).
      1. Forward or onward movement, as toward a destination:
      2. Development, advancement, or improvement, as toward a goal:
      3. A ceremonial journey made by a sovereign through his or her realm.
      1. An inclination, tendency, or preference.
      1. The natural attraction between physical bodies, especially when one of the bodies is a celestial body, such as the earth.
      2. Grave consequence; seriousness or importance:
      3. Solemnity or dignity of manner.
      1. To put in a specified position or arrangement; place:
      2. To put into a specified state:
      3. To cause to begin an action:
      1. A line going diagonally across the grain of fabric:
      2. A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment.
      3. An unfair act or policy stemming from prejudice.
      1. To apply pressure against (something), especially for the purpose of moving it:
      2. To move (something) by exerting force against it; thrust or shove:
      3. To exert downward pressure on (a button or keyboard, for example); press.
      1. The object toward which an endeavor is directed; an end.
      2. A structure or area into which players endeavor to propel a ball or puck in order to score points.
      3. A play or shot that sends a ball or puck into or through the goal.
      1. A sound of distinct pitch, quality, and duration; a note.
      2. The interval of a major second in the diatonic scale; a whole step.
      3. A recitational melody in a Gregorian chant.
      1. The range of one's perceptions, thoughts, or actions:
      2. The opportunity or possibility to function or be active:
      3. The extent of a given activity or subject that is involved, treated, or relevant:
      1. To direct (a weapon or camera) toward a point.
      2. To direct or propel (an object, such as a ball) toward a point:
      3. To direct toward or intend for a particular goal or group:
      1. The process of driving or propelling.
      2. A driving or propelling force.
      1. An impelling force; an impulse.
      2. The force or energy associated with a moving body.
      3. Something that incites; a stimulus.
      1. An impelling force; an impetus.
      2. The motion produced by such a force.
      3. A sudden wish or urge that prompts an unpremeditated act or feeling; an abrupt inclination:
      1. Development in a particular way; progress:
      2. Movement in time; duration:
      3. The direction of continuing movement:
      1. The act of inclining or the state of being inclined; a bend or tilt:
      2. A deviation or the degree of deviation from the horizontal or vertical; a slant:
      3. The angle between two lines or planes:
      1. The use of physical or mental energy to do something; exertion.
      2. A difficult exertion of strength or will:
      3. A usually earnest attempt:
      1. Either extremity of something that has length:
      2. The outside or extreme edge or physical limit; a boundary:
      3. The point in time when an action, event, or phenomenon ceases or is completed; the conclusion:
      1. A characteristic likelihood:
      2. A predisposition to think, act, or proceed in a particular way:
      3. A characteristic pattern or point of view:
      1. A general tendency or course of events:
      2. Current style; vogue:
      3. The general direction of something:
      1. The general course or character of something:
      2. The word, phrase, or subject with which the vehicle of a metaphor is identified, as life in
      3. The general meaning; the purport or drift:
      1. Altered from an originally straight or even condition:
      2. Determined to take a course of action:
      3. Corrupt; venal.
    See also:

    route

    direction

    Antonyms:

  2. The measure or character of movement

      1. The act of leaving.
      2. A starting out, as on a trip or a new course of action.
      3. A divergence or deviation, as from an established rule, plan, or procedure:
      1. To turn or twist (wood, for example) out of shape; deform.
      2. To alter from a normal, proper, or healthy state; twist or pervert:
      3. To arrange strands of yarn or thread lengthwise onto (a loom) in preparation for weaving.
      1. To clean or clear, as of dirt, with a broom or brush:
      2. To clear away with a broom or brush:
      3. To clear (a path or space) with a broom or brush.
      1. Present participle of swerve.
      2. An unpredictable change of direction.
      1. The act of digressing.
      2. An instance of digressing, especially a written or spoken passage that has no bearing on the main subject.
      1. The act or an instance of diverting or turning aside; deviation.
      2. Something that distracts the mind and relaxes or entertains.
      3. A maneuver that draws the attention of an opponent away from a planned point of action, especially as part of military strategy.
      1. A flow of water in a channel or bed, as a brook, rivulet, or small river.
      2. A steady current in such a flow of water.
      3. A steady current of a fluid.
      1. Belonging to the present time:
      2. Being in progress now:
      3. Passing from one to another; circulating:
      1. To move or run smoothly with unbroken continuity, as in the manner characteristic of a fluid.
      2. To issue in a stream; pour forth:
      3. To circulate, as the blood in the body.
      1. A flow or flowing of a liquid.
      2. The flowing in of the tide.
      3. A continuing movement, especially in large numbers of things:
      1. The drift of a ship or aircraft to leeward of the course being steered.
      2. A margin of freedom or variation, as of activity, time, or expenditure; latitude.
      1. The act or process of changing position or place.
      2. A meaningful or expressive change in the position of the body or a part of the body; a gesture.
      3. Active operation:
      1. A deviation from what is considered proper or normal.
      2. A departure from what is typical:
      3. A disorder or abnormal alteration in one's mental state.
      1. To cleanse, using water or other liquid, usually with soap, detergent, or bleach, by immersing, dipping, rubbing, or scrubbing:
      2. To soak, rinse out, and remove (dirt or stain) with water or other liquid:
      3. To make moist or wet; drench:
      1. The act of deviating or turning aside.
      2. An instance of this:
      3. Divergence from an accepted idea, policy, or norm of behavior:
    See also:

    flow

  3. General meaning

      1. Something perceptible by one or more of the senses, especially by vision or touch; a material thing.
      2. A focus of attention, feeling, thought, or action:
      3. A limiting factor that must be considered:
      1. The action or fact of intending:
      2. An aim that guides action; an objective:
      3. Purpose with respect to marriage:
      1. To have or present the often false appearance of being or intending; claim or profess:
      2. Meaning that is presented, intended, or implied; import.
      3. Intention; purpose:
      1. The general course or character of something:
      2. The word, phrase, or subject with which the vehicle of a metaphor is identified, as life in
      3. The general meaning; the purport or drift:
    See also:

    meaning

  4. Something blown

    See also:

    heap

  5. A tunnel following a vein of ore

    See also:

    tendency

    tunnel

Verb
  1. See also:

    roam

    flow

    Antonyms:
© WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD® ROGET’S A-Z THESAURUS by Charlton Laird and the editors of Webster’s New World dictionaries. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Sentence Examples

  • She couldn't let this moment drift by.

  • I hope we never drift apart that way again.

  • She sat down, leaning her back against the tree, and watched shadows from puffy clouds drift across the surface.

  • He wanted to let his hand drift downwards but stopped himself.

  • The Middle Drift is 36 m.

More sentences →

Words that mention drift in the Dictionary

Words near drift in the Thesaurus