A Snowdrift and Continental Drift Share One Idea
To drift is to be carried by a current. The word describes anything moved gradually by a force it does not resist.
To drift is to be carried along by a current, without steering. The word covers an odd range because the underlying idea is so simple: snow drifts into banks, boats drift on the tide, conversations drift off topic, and continents drift across the planet at roughly the speed a fingernail grows. In each case something moves because it is carried, not because it steers. *To catch someone's drift* means to follow where their meaning is heading.
- To be carried along. *The boat drifted.*
- A heap of snow. *A deep drift.*
- The general meaning. *I catch your drift.*
- Continental drift — plate movement. *Continental drift.*
- Drifter — one without fixed plans. *A drifter.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | drift | It drifts. |
| Past | drifted | It drifted off. |
| Noun | drift | A snow drift. |
| Agent | drifter | A drifter. |
| Adjective | drifting | Drifting snow. |
- The dinghy drifted out to sea.Water.
- Snow drifted against the wall.Weather.
- I think I catch your drift.Meaning.
Kinds of drift
- Snowdrift — snow piled by wind
- Continental drift — plates moving centimetres a year
- Genetic drift — random change in gene frequency
- Mission drift — an organisation losing its original purpose
- Drift net — a fishing net left to move with the current
Middle English, from Old Norse *drift*, a snowdrift, related to *drive*. The word originally meant that which is driven.
How fast do continents drift?
A few centimetres a year, roughly the rate at which fingernails grow.
What does catch my drift mean?
Understand where my meaning is heading, without needing it spelled out.