English Meaning & Definitions
Moving slowly without a clear direction, purpose, or fixed control.
- “The small boat was left drifting on the calm lake.”
- “She felt a sense of drifting uncertainty about her career path.”
The act or process of moving aimlessly, or the motorsport technique of steering a vehicle so that it slides sideways through turns.
- “The drifting of snow across the highway caused hazardous driving conditions.”
- “He practiced professional drifting on the closed racetrack.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
English Antonyms & Opposites
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “drifting”.
Derived from the verb 'drift' (Middle English 'driften', akin to Old Norse 'drifaf' or Old English 'drīfan' meaning 'to drive'), combined with the present participle suffix '-ing'. Originally nautical, referring to a ship being moved aimlessly by currents or wind.
Think of a snowflake (drift) floating gently on the breeze, moving without a destination.
Frequently Asked Questions About “drifting”
1. What is the meaning of “drifting” in English?
In English, drifting (adjective) is defined as: “Moving slowly without a clear direction, purpose, or fixed control.”.
2. How do you use “drifting” in a sentence?
“The small boat was left drifting on the calm lake.”
3. What are English synonyms of “drifting”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “drifting”?
Derived from the verb 'drift' (Middle English 'driften', akin to Old Norse 'drifaf' or Old English 'drīfan' meaning 'to drive'), combined with the present participle suffix '-ing'. Originally nautical, referring to a ship being moved aimlessly by currents or wind.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.
A specific duration of time equivalent to one hour and forty-six minutes.