Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun drift

7 senses of drift

Sense 1
drift, impetus, impulsion -- (a force that moves something along)
       => force -- ((physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity; "force equals mass times acceleration")

Sense 2
drift -- (the gradual departure from an intended course due to external influences (as a ship or plane))
       => natural process, natural action, action, activity -- (a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings); "the action of natural forces"; "volcanic activity")

Sense 3
drift -- (a process of linguistic change over a period of time)
       => linguistic process -- (a process involved in human language)

Sense 4
drift -- (a large mass of material that is heaped up by the wind or by water currents)
       => mass -- (a body of matter without definite shape; "a huge ice mass")

Sense 5
drift, trend, movement -- (a general tendency to change (as of opinion); "not openly liberal but that is the trend of the book"; "a broad movement of the electorate to the right")
       => inclination, disposition, tendency -- (an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others; "he had an inclination to give up too easily"; "a tendency to be too strict")

Sense 6
drift, purport -- (the pervading meaning or tenor; "caught the general drift of the conversation")
       => tenor, strain -- (the general meaning or substance of an utterance; "although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument")

Sense 7
drift, heading, gallery -- (a horizontal (or nearly horizontal) passageway in a mine; "they dug a drift parallel with the vein")
       => passageway -- (a passage between rooms or between buildings)

Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb drift

10 senses of drift

Sense 1
float, drift, be adrift, blow -- (be in motion due to some air or water current; "The leaves were blowing in the wind"; "the boat drifted on the lake"; "The sailboat was adrift on the open sea"; "the shipwrecked boat drifted away from the shore")
       => travel, go, move, locomote -- (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast")

Sense 2
stray, err, drift -- (wander from a direct course or at random; "The child strayed from the path and her parents lost sight of her"; "don't drift from the set course")
       => travel, go, move, locomote -- (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast")

Sense 3
roll, wander, swan, stray, tramp, roam, cast, ramble, rove, range, drift, vagabond -- (move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment; "The gypsies roamed the woods"; "roving vagabonds"; "the wandering Jew"; "The cattle roam across the prairie"; "the laborers drift from one town to the next"; "They rolled from town to town")
       => travel, go, move, locomote -- (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast")

Sense 4
drift -- (vary or move from a fixed point or course; "stock prices are drifting higher")
       => vary -- (be subject to change in accordance with a variable; "Prices vary"; "His moods vary depending on the weather")

Sense 5
freewheel, drift -- (live unhurriedly, irresponsibly, or freely; "My son drifted around for years in California before going to law school")
       => exist, survive, live, subsist -- (support oneself; "he could barely exist on such a low wage"; "Can you live on $2000 a month in New York City?"; "Many people in the world have to subsist on $1 a day")

Sense 6
drift -- (move in an unhurried fashion; "The unknown young man drifted among the invited guests")
       => circulate -- (move around freely; "She circulates among royalty")

Sense 7
drift -- (cause to be carried by a current; "drift the boats downstream")
       => float -- (set afloat; "He floated the logs down the river"; "The boy floated his toy boat on the pond")

Sense 8
drift -- (drive slowly and far afield for grazing; "drift the cattle herds westwards")
       => crop, graze, pasture -- (let feed in a field or pasture or meadow)

Sense 9
drift -- (be subject to fluctuation; "The stock market drifted upward")
       => change -- (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night")

Sense 10
drift -- (be piled up in banks or heaps by the force of wind or a current; "snow drifting several feet high"; "sand drifting like snow")
       => accumulate, cumulate, conglomerate, pile up, gather, amass -- (collect or gather; "Journals are accumulating in my office"; "The work keeps piling up")