How to Use drift in a Sentence

drift

1 of 2 noun
Definition of driftnext
Synonyms for driftnext
  • As she got older, you could observe a drift in her writing towards more serious subjects.
  • The trail was well-groomed, though bumpy here and there from wind drifts.
    — John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Mar. 2023
  • Dew points in the low 60s in the morning drift lower to the nice 50s by the afternoon.
    — Matt Rogers, Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2022
  • There’s no drift in the sound and the distortion levels are so low.
    — Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
  • And then those drifts will hydrate soil during the spring melt.
    — Benjamin Vogt, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Oct. 2023
  • At first the change was subtle—a slow drift into the culture wars.
    — Katie Notopoulos, The Atlantic, 19 Oct. 2023
  • Lows Friday night drift into the 40s as winds pick up yet again.
    — Matt Rogers, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2023
  • The Sun reported that drifts were knee-, waist- and even shoulder-deep.
    — Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun, 23 Jan. 2024
  • Cloudy Friday night with the chance of rain arriving late as lows drift into the 50s.
    — Matt Rogers, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2022
  • The drift-heavy retro racing of NeoDrift suffers from a smidge of slowdown.
    — Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 1 Aug. 2022
  • The sky was empty except for drift smoke from far-off fires one summer day in 2019.
    — Noah Davis, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Aug. 2022
  • Some have also raised issues with the left and right sticks, complaining of a drift.
    — Antonio G. Di Benedetto, The Verge, 24 Mar. 2023
  • The Jeep is also powered by a V8 that helped turn it into a drift machine.
    — Gary Gastelu, Fox News, 8 Nov. 2022
  • The drift ice near Hokkaido might have been carried there by the Sakhalin Current.
    — Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 1 Mar. 2024
  • Skow said windblown snow tends to pile up in the area that buckled near the front of the building, citing a 5-foot drift near the flagpole.
    — Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Feb. 2023
  • The car got onto US 422 westbound, at which point the officer saw the car drift between lanes.
    — cleveland, 12 July 2022
  • Apply any of these as directed only, and on a very calm day to avoid drift.
    — oregonlive, 18 Mar. 2023
  • When drift fishing or jigging, being near the back of the boat is less critical.
    — Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 8 Nov. 2023
  • In North Alabama, 45 mph winds piled snow into drifts up to six feet high.
    — William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, 8 Mar. 2023
  • While the hotel guests drift from meal to meal, locals vigorously stir the pot.
    — Donna Bowman, Chron, 20 Nov. 2022
  • Gentle pickles and, yes, more umeboshi drift on the surface.
    — Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2022
  • Avoid rigid lines and even numbers Create garden beds that curve, plant in odd numbers, plant in drifts.
    — Joanne Kempinger Demski, Journal Sentinel, 12 July 2023
  • The natural buildup of old food and grime can linger in your kitchen sink and drain and drift to the rest of your home if not cleaned properly or often enough.
    — Andrea Crowley, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Oct. 2022
  • On the water, the lanterns flicker and drift, creating a kaleidoscope of color and light.
    — Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 11 Aug. 2023
  • Songs drift and rush like slow moving storm clouds–a little punk blast here, a little indie crash there.
    — Joe Gross, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2022
  • At the same time, the public safety office was losing two of its main liaisons to Safe Streets, raising the risk of further drift.
    — Alec MacGillis, ProPublica, 30 Jan. 2023
  • See who prefers to hole up hygge-style inside when the outdoors is covered in a blanket of white, and who’s packing on the layers to frolic through the drifts.
    — Megan Stein, Peoplemag, 2 Aug. 2023
  • As kids, Siobhan and her brother would sometimes walk that road to catch a ride to school, clambering over snow drifts to get there.
    — Judi Ketteler, Good Housekeeping, 7 Mar. 2023
  • Nobody likes stick drift in their game controllers, but everybody loves a good deal.
    — Antonio G. Di Benedetto, The Verge, 3 Aug. 2023
  • From that vantage point, the firefighters found a more manageable path: over a 5-foot berm, under some trees and across a side yard of snow drifts.
    — Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2023
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drift

2 of 2 verb
  • The snow drifted against the side of the house.
  • The clouds drifted across the sky.
  • Her eyes drifted across the crowd.
  • My thoughts drifted back to the time when we first met.
  • The boat slowly drifted out to sea.
  • Drifting snow covered most of the car.
  • She drifted from job to job.
  • After he left the army he just drifted for a few years.
  • The party guests drifted from room to room, eating and mingling.
  • The conversation drifted from topic to topic.
  • On the day of the crash, his car began to drift as a lane line faded.
    — Trisha Thadani, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2024
  • But if a fall is fatal the body often drifts with the tide.
    — Patrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
  • These echoes drifted back to the rear in confused waves.
    — Rory Feehan, SPIN, 9 Nov. 2023
  • The place drifted me back in time to a tiny seaside eatery in Spain.
    — Jenn Rice, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Ask them to raise their arms to see if one drifts downward.
    — Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 18 Jan. 2024
  • The girls drifted apart in middle school, and so did the adult friendship.
    — Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, oregonlive, 19 Sep. 2023
  • But the throw was off line and drifted toward the shortstop area.
    — Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Aug. 2023
  • The balloon then floats up, folds over on itself and drifts out of frame.
    — USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2024
  • But on some days, her mind drifts to the crack in the wall outside her fourth grade classroom.
    — Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 27 Mar. 2024
  • For a while, the Wings’ chances of winning Game 1 were drifting quickly out to sea.
    — Peter Warren, Dallas News, 16 Sep. 2023
  • Arms: Stroke can cause a person’s limbs to drift downward.
    — Maggie O'Neill, Health, 9 Nov. 2023
  • The crystals often form near the top of a cloud, then drift slowly downward.
    — Susan Cosier, Scientific American, 19 Dec. 2023
  • The music drifts over here, but no speakers are pumping it in.
    — Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 28 Feb. 2024
  • What’s the name of the world’s largest iceberg that drifted away from the Antarctic Peninsula?
    — CNN, 12 Jan. 2024
  • Many of these folks drifted in and out of the millionaires club over the last year and a half, but they weren’t deterred.
    — Michelle Singletary, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024
  • All of us got stung, but one researcher took the brunt of the pain when one of the animals drifted up his board shorts.
    — Smithsonian Magazine, 10 July 2023
  • The plane had apparently drifted to the east and was no longer lined up with the runway.
    — Kris Van Cleave, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2024
  • Feathery clouds drifted over wooden chalets, and cows with bells around their necks grazed in the fields.
    — Tim Neville, Travel + Leisure, 1 Apr. 2024
  • The currents know no borders as the pollution drifts north.
    — Daniel Wolfe, Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2023
  • But Monken hasn’t drifted far from his roots, at least not Sunday.
    — Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 17 Sep. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drift.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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