What is the meaning of drifting?

noun

  • Aimless wandering from place to place.

verb

  • Be in motion due to some air or water current.
    • usage: "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"
  • Wander from a direct course or at random.
    • usage: "The child strayed from the path and her parents lost sight of her"; "don't drift from the set course"
  • Move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment.
    • usage: "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"
  • Vary or move from a fixed point or course.
    • usage: "stock prices are drifting higher"
  • Live unhurriedly, irresponsibly, or freely.
    • usage: "My son drifted around for years in California before going to law school"
  • Move in an unhurried fashion.
    • usage: "The unknown young man drifted among the invited guests"
  • Cause to be carried by a current.
    • usage: "drift the boats downstream"
  • Drive slowly and far afield for grazing.
    • usage: "drift the cattle herds westwards"
  • Be subject to fluctuation.
    • usage: "The stock market drifted upward"
  • Be piled up in banks or heaps by the force of wind or a current.
    • usage: "snow drifting several feet high"; "sand drifting like snow"

adjective

  • Continually changing especially as from one abode or occupation to another.
    • usage: "a drifting double-dealer"; "the floating population"; "vagrant hippies of the sixties"
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APAWordNet. (2010). drifting. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/drifting/definitions/1172899
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "drifting" http://smartdefine.org/drifting/definitions/1172899 (accessed September 20, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, drifting, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/drifting/definitions/1172899>.
MLAWordNet. "drifting" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/drifting/definitions/1172899>
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