drifting

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   Moving slowly on water, air or wind without being steered or controlled.

   Grammar: No object; often followed by a direction word: drifting across the sky.

   Patterns

   • drifting along
   • drifting across something
   • drifting towards something

   The boat was drifting slowly toward the rocks.

   Clouds were drifting across the hills all afternoon.

   Smoke kept drifting through the open window.

2. 2verbintransitive

   Living or moving from one thing to another without a clear goal or plan, or slowly losing connection with something.

   Grammar: No object; often followed by into, from or apart: drifting into a job.

   Patterns

   • drifting into something
   • drifting apart
   • drifting from place to place

   He spent a year drifting from one casual job to another.

   The two friends were slowly drifting apart.

   I am worried that the team is drifting without a clear plan.

3. 3noununcountablesport

   A motorsport technique and style in which a driver deliberately slides a car sideways around corners.

   Grammar: Used without an or a plural: drifting is popular in Japan.

   Patterns

   • drifting competition
   • go drifting

   Drifting competitions draw large crowds in several countries.

   He learned drifting on an empty parking lot with an old car.

   Drifting wears out tires very quickly.

Common combinations

drifting apart

After college, the friends found themselves drifting apart.

drifting off to sleep

I was drifting off to sleep when the phone rang.

drifting snow

Drifting snow closed the mountain road.

aimlessly drifting

He was aimlessly drifting through his twenties.

drifting along

The raft was drifting along with the current.

Synonyms and how they differ

floating

Floating stresses staying on the surface or in the air, while drifting stresses being carried along by a current.

wandering

Wandering suggests a person choosing to walk around, whereas drifting suggests being carried along without real direction.

coasting

Coasting suggests moving with little effort, often in a way that avoids work, and it has a more critical tone than drifting.

Opposites

Word family

drift verb

to be carried slowly along, or to move without a goal

drift noun

a slow movement, or a heap of snow or sand blown together

drifter noun

a person who moves from place to place without a settled life

driftwood noun

wood carried by water and left on a shore

Commonly confused: drifting or drafting?

Practice

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