drifts

Noun

drift (countable and uncountable, plural drifts)

1. (physical) Anything driven at random.
   • Some log perhaps upon the waters swam, a useless drift.1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number)
2. (physical) A mass of matter which has been driven or forced onward together in a body, or thrown together in a heap, etc., especially by wind or water.
   • a drift of snow, of ice, of sand, of plants, etc.
3. (physical) The distance through which a current flows in a given time.
4. (collective, physical) The animals being moved in a drive, as of cattle, goats, horses, pigs or sheep.
   • cattle coming over the bridge (with their great drifts doing much damage to the high ways)1655, Thomas Fuller, The History of the University of Cambridge, since the Conquest, [London]: [[…] Iohn Williams […]], →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   drove

5. (collective, physical) A group of birds moving together.
   • A drift of geese rose over the bank.2023, Sue Hubbard, Flatlands, Steerforth Press, page 213

   Synonyms:

   flock

6. (physical) A collection of loose earth and rocks, or boulders, which have been distributed over large portions of the earth's surface, especially in latitudes north of forty degrees, by the retreat of continental glaciers, such as that which buries former river valleys and creates young river valleys.
   • It is there seen that at a distance from the valleys of streams, the old glacial drift usually comes to the surface, and often rises into considerable eminences.1867, E. Andrews, "Observations on the Glacial Drift beneath the bed of Lake Michigan," American Journal of Science and Arts, vol. 43, nos. 127-129, page 75

See all 44 meanings of drift