to drift

Examples

• All

• Captain, head in the direction of the flow and then drift with it.

  Fantastic Voyage (1966)

• We will drift to the submarine.

  The Darkest Hour (2011)

• My God, they're going to drift out to sea.

  Sometimes a Great Notion (1971)

• Yesterday we rented a paddleboat in the park and drifted around the small lake.

  Fiction book (1990)

• The smell of onions, spices, and simmering meat drifted down the steps every day.

  Fiction book (1991)

• The record includes Jeju fishermen who drifted to Okinawa and interacted with Okinawa's culture.

  Academic text (2018)

• We let the sailboat drift along the coastline as we enjoyed the view.

• The leaf began to drift on the surface of the pond, carried by the gentle breeze.

• As the storm passed, we watched the debris slowly drift away down the river.

Synonyms

F

to float

vsto drift

645 1.0

To stay or move on water without sinking, sometimes in the air

causes movement by a current rather than by independent surface support

E

to entrain

vsto drift

• Specialized

1 8.9

To carry small things along in moving water or air

causes something to be carried along by a current in plain usage

Antonyms

A

to anchor

51 3.4

To hold something in place so it does not move

Phrasal Verbs

D

to drift off

23 3.8

To slowly fall asleep without meaning to

D

to drift apart

17 3.7

To become less close to each other over time

D

to drift away

15 4.5

To slowly lose contact and closeness with someone

G

to get the drift

• Informal

4 4.5

To understand the main idea without knowing every detail

Compounds

C

continental drift

• Specialized

4 4.8

The slow movement of Earth's continents over a very long time

D

drift net

• Specialized

3 5.1

A large fishing net that floats and moves with the water to catch fish

D

drift ice

• UK

6.0

Large pieces of ice that float on the open sea

How Far

to carry away

88 3.5

to sweep

182 2.1

to drift

41 3.6

to shift

683 2.0

move

167 1.0

Surface Forms

Etymology