Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Drifting |
DriftingAdjective1. Afloat on the surface of a body of water; "after the storm the boats were adrift". 2. Continually changing especially as from one abode or occupation to another; "a drifting double-dealer"; "the floating population"; "vagrant hippies of the sixties". Noun1. Aimless wandering from place to place. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "drifting" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1615. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Food & Agriculture | Floating at random; not fastened by any kind of moorings; at the mercy of winds and currents; loose from normal anchorage. A vessel is said to be adrift when she breaks away from her moorings, warps, and so on. Source: European Union. (references) |
| A method of fishing with nets not drawn through the water but allowed to drift with the tide and held in a more or less vertical position by floats and weights. Source: European Union. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: DriftingSynonyms: adrift(p) (adj), aimless (adj), drifting(a) (adj), floating (adj), vagabond (adj), vagrant (adj). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Drifting |
| English words defined with "drifting": adrift, afloat, aimless, Anchorless ♦ centerboard, centreboard ♦ directionless, Drag sail, drift, driftage, drogue, drop keel ♦ floating ♦ ice pack, issue ♦ matter ♦ planless ♦ rudderless ♦ Sand drift, sea anchor, sliding keel, subject ♦ topic ♦ undirected ♦ vagabond, vagrant. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "drifting": back holes, blubber finger ♦ drag cut, Dragonades, drifting-machine operator, Dynamic Ice, dynamical friction ♦ Grimsby ♦ lithium-drifted p-i-n diode ♦ mine development, moving mine ♦ Petersen grab ♦ Scandinavian blubber finger, seal finger, sealer's finger, sealers'finger, Spaek finger, speck finger, spekkfinger ♦ tether cable, Townsend ionization coefficient ♦ up-over ♦ wedge cut. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | But now that Martin was settling down to marriage, they were slowly drifting apart. (The Creeping Terror; writing credit: Arthur Ross; Robert Silliphant) All is drifting on the wind as you said. (The Wind and the Lion; writing credit: John Milius) | |
Lyrics | Before Drifting Me Deeper (Rock the Boat; performing artist: Aaliyah) Baby I've been drifting away (Let's Make Love (with Tim McGraw); performing artist: Faith Hill) Drifting in the echoes of the hours. (MOONCHILD; performing artist: King Crimson) The part of you that's drifting over me (Everywhere; performing artist: Michelle Branch) On the plane now my mind drifting (Ain't No Place Like Home; performing artist: Prince) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Drifting Along (1946) The Drifting Kid (1928) Drifting On (1927) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Music |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Ripple pattern offshore with green algae drifting close to shore. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | Drifting snow at the Oliktok Point Camp. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | Aerial view of South Pole Station - Clean Air Facility visible in upper right. This was taken after several years of drifting snow. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |  | Drifting bits of sea ice. Ross Ice Shelf in the background. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | Drifting hard hat overboard in the Ross Sea in the midst of newly forming ice. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |  | Icebergs drifting in the Ross Sea. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | Penguins hitching a ride on a bergy bit drifting in the Ross Sea. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |  | Figure 20. Horizontal shutter plankton net first invented by Prince Albert I of Monaco in 1889. Left: view of the assembled unit. Right: the messenger to trigger operation of the unit. This net would be lowered to a specified depth and then a messenger sent down the line to open it and capture drifting fauna at depth. This was first tested by Prince Albert I off Madeira in 1889. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |
 | Launching points for a series of drifting floats for determining surface currents and velocity. These floats were launched from late on July 26, 1885, to early morning of July 28, 1885. Plate B, right. In: "Results of the Scientific Campaigns of the Prince of Monaco." Vol. 84. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |  | Jim Arnold (left), with the Laramie County Conservation District in southeastern Wyoming, discusses with ARS soil scientist Gerald Schuman the use of trees instead of wooden fences to trap drifting snow. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer.. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Kamo No Chomei | My body is like a drifting cloud -- I ask for nothing, I want nothing. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | The soul drifting in that sea may become a corpse. |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | His childhood was dead or lost and with it his soul capable of simple joys, and he was drifting amid life like the barren shell of the moon. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Other familiar examples of myoclonus are the jerks or "sleep starts" that some people experience while drifting off to sleep. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Robert Novak | A few weeks ago, Congressman Gephardt, on this program we asked Senator John Breaux of Louisiana if he was worried that the Democratic Party was drifting back to the left, and this is the answer he gave. Let's just listen to him. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | Instead, we have drifted, and that drifting has eroded our resources, fractured our economy, and shaken our confidence. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Drifting" is generally used as a lexical verb (-ing form) -- approximately 94.39% of the time. "Drifting" is used about 552 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Lexical Verb (-ing form) | 94.39% | 521 | 11,694 |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 4.16% | 23 | 72,767 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.72% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Noun (singular) | 0.72% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Total | 100.00% | 552 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "drifting": drifting dust ♦ drifting mine ♦ drifting sand ♦ drifting snow ♦ low drifting snow. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "drifting"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 漂移 (Drifted). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | drivgarnsfiskeri (drift net fishing), drivende (adrift), opdorning, koersel med lukket regulator (running with the regulator closed), i drift (adrift, on stream). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | drijfnetvisserij (drift net fishing), rijden met afgesloten stoom (running with the regulator closed), opruiming, op drift (adrift), kotteren (boring, drilling), afdrijvend (adrift). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | tuuliajolla (adrift), ajoverkoilla kalastaminen (drift net fishing), ajoverkkokalastus (drift net fishing). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
French | dérive (drift, driftage), pêche aux filets dérivants (drift net fishing), navigation la derive, marche régulateur fermé, mandrinage, en dérive, creusement des galeries au rocher (gateroad drivage in stone, stone drifting, stone drivage), émigration, la dérive. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
German | treibend (adrift, floating, impelling, impulsive, impulsively, propelling, wreaking), dahintreibend. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | έρμαιο των κυμάτων (adrift), έρμαιο (waif), πορεία με κλειστό ρυθμιστή (coasting, freewheeling, running with the regulator closed), πορεία με κλειστό ρεγουλατόρο (running with the regulator closed), αλιεία με παρασυρόμενο δίχτυ (crane, drift net fishing), διάνοιξη οπών με θερμό σίδηρο. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | "'רפות. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | vágatkihajtás, sodródás (convolute, drift, skidding), sodrás (backwash, streamline, torsion, twist). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | terapung (adrift, afloat, drifting about, floating about). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | pesca con rete da posta derivante (drift net fishing), marcia a regolatore chiuso (running with the regulator closed), mandrinatura, alla deriva (adrift). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 漂流 (drift). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | ひょうりゅう (drift), ふりゅう (floating about), ふわっと (floating, weightlessness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 편류 (drift). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | iftingdray solto de amarração (adrift), pesca com redes de emalhar de deriva (drift net fishing), operação de mandrilar, marcha com regulador fechado (running with the regulator closed), mandrilagem (reaming), deriva (adrift). (various references) pesca con red de deriva (drift net fishing), marcha con el regulador cerrado (running with the regulator closed), mandrinado, al garete (adrift), a la deriva (adrift). (various references) drift (administration, banter, chaff, drift, drive, impulsion, instinct, jest, jesting, joking, Josh, leg pull, management, operation, persiflage, running, service, traffic, urge, working). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "drifting": driftingly. (additional references) | |
| |
"Drifting" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: draftings. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "drifting" (pronounced dri"fting) |
| 5 | -i" f t i ng | gifting, lifting, shifting, sifting. |
| 4 | -f t i ng | airlifting, crafting, drafting, grafting, rafting, shafting, shoplifting, uplifting, wafting, weightlifting. |
| 3 | -t i ng | abating, abbreviating, abdicating, abducting, abetting, aborting, abrogating, abutting, accelerating, accenting, accentuating, accepting, accommodating, accosting, accounting, accrediting, accumulating, acquitting, acting, activating, adapting, addicting, adjudicating, adjusting, administrating, admitting, adopting, advocating, affecting, affiliating, afflicting, aggravating, agitating, alerting, alienating, alleviating, allocating, allotting, alternating, amounting, annotating, anticipating, appointing, appreciating, appropriating, approximating, arbitrating, arresting, articulating, assassinating, assaulting, asserting, assimilating, assisting, associating, attempting, attesting, attracting, attributing, auditing, augmenting, authenticating, automating, averting, awaiting, babysitting, backbiting, baiting, balloting, bankrupting, batting, beating, befitting, begetting, belting, benefiting, benefitting, berating, besetting, besting, betting, biting, bitting, blacklisting, blanketing, blasting, bloating, bloodletting, blunting, boasting, boating, bolting, boosting, booting, boycotting, breasting, broadcasting, budgeting, bullfighting, bunting, bursting, busting, butting, calculating, captivating, carpeting, carting, castigating, casting, castrating, catapulting, cavorting, celebrating, cementing, chanting, charting, chatting, cheating, chlorinating, circulating, circumventing, citing, clotting, coagulating, coasting, coating, coexisting, cohabiting, collaborating, collecting, combating, combatting, comforting, commemorating, commenting, committing, communicating, commuting, compensating, competing, complementing, completing, complicating, complimenting, composting, computing, concentrating, concocting, conducting, confiscating, conflicting, confronting, congratulating, connecting, consenting, consisting, consolidating, consorting, constituting, constricting, constructing, consulting, consummating, contacting, contaminating, contemplating, contesting, contracting, contradicting, contrasting, contributing, converting, convicting, cooperating, coordinating, copycatting, correcting, correlating, corroborating, corrupting, costing, counteracting, Counterfeiting, counting, courting, crating, creating, crediting, cresting, culminating, cultivating, cutting, darting, dating, daunting, debating, debilitating, decaffeinating, decanting, decelerating, decimating, decorating, dedicating, deducting, defaulting, defeating, defecting, deflating, deflecting, defrosting, degenerating, delegating, deleting, deliberating, delighting, delineating, delisting, demonstrating, denigrating, denting, departing, depicting, depleting, deporting, depositing, deprecating, depreciating, deregulating, deserting, designating, destructing, detecting, deteriorating, detonating, detracting, devastating, devoting, dictating, dieting, differentiating, digesting, diluting, directing, disappointing, disconcerting, disconnecting, discounting, discrediting, discriminating, disgusting, disintegrating, disorienting, dispiriting, disputing, disquieting, disrespecting, disrupting, dissecting, disseminating, dissenting, dissipating, distorting, distracting, distributing, districting, diverting, divesting, documenting, domesticating, dominating, donating, doting, dotting, doubting, duplicating, dusting, eating, editing, educating, effecting, elaborating, elating, electing, electroplating, elevating, eliciting, eliminating, emanating, emigrating, emitting, emulating, enacting, encapsulating, enchanting, encrusting, enlisting, entrusting, enunciating, equating, equivocating, eradicating, erecting, erupting, escalating, escorting, estimating, evacuating, evaluating, evaporating, everlasting, evicting, exacerbating, exacting, exaggerating, exalting, exasperating, excavating, excepting, exciting, excoriating, excruciating, executing, exempting, exerting, exhausting, exhibiting, exhilarating, exhorting, existing, exiting, exonerating, expecting, expediting, experimenting, exploiting, exporting, extenuating, exterminating, extorting, extracting, extraditing, extrapolating, fabricating, facilitating, fainting, fascinating, fasting, faulting, feasting, fermenting, ferreting, Fetting, fidgeting, fighting, fingerprinting, firefighting, fitting, flaunting, fleeting, flirting, flitting, floating, flouting, fluctuating, fomenting, footing, footnoting, forecasting, forfeiting, forgetting, formulating, fragmenting, fretting, fronting, frosting, fruiting, frustrating, generating, getting, glinting, gloating, graduating, granting, grating, gravitating, greeting, gritting, grouting, grunting, gunfighting, gusting, gutting, gyrating, hallucinating, halting, handwriting, harvesting, Hasting, hating, haunting, heating, hesitating, highlighting, hinting, hitting, hoisting, homeporting, hosting, humiliating, hunting, hurting, hydrogenating, igniting, illuminating, illustrating, imitating, impacting, imparting, impersonating, implanting, implementing, implicating, importing, imprinting, inaugurating, incapacitating, incarcerating, incinerating, inciting, incorporating, incriminating, incubating, indicating, indicting, infatuating, infecting, infighting, infiltrating, inflating, inflicting, infuriating, ingesting, ingratiating, inhabiting, inheriting, inhibiting, initiating, injecting, innovating, inserting, insinuating, insisting, inspecting, instigating, instituting, instructing, insulating, insulting, integrating, interacting, intercepting, interdicting, interesting, interpreting, interrogating, interrupting, intersecting, intimidating, intoxicating, inundating, invalidating, inventing, investigating, investing, invigorating, inviting, irritating, isolating, jetting, jolting, jousting, jutting, kiting, knitting, lactating, lambasting, lamenting, laminating, lasting, legislating, letting, levitating, liberating, lighting, limiting, liquidating, listing, litigating, locating, looting, lubricating, lusting, malting, mandating, manifesting, manipulating, marketing, marting, masturbating, mating, matting, mediating, meditating, meeting, melting, migrating, minting, misappropriating, misinterpreting, misrepresenting, misstating, mistreating, mitigating, moderating, molesting, molting, moonlighting, motivating, mounting, mutating, mutilating, muting, nauseating, navigating, necessitating, negating, neglecting, negotiating, nesting, netting, nitrating, nominating, nonbiting, nonoperating, nonsporting, nonvoting, noting, Nutting, objecting, obliterating, obstructing, obviating, officiating, offsetting, omitting, operating, opting, orbiting, orchestrating, originating, oscillating, ousting, Outfitting, outing, outwitting, overeating, overestimating, overheating, overreacting, overshooting, overstating, painting, panting, parachuting, parenting, participating, parting, pasting, patenting, patting, penetrating, percolating, perfecting, permeating, permitting, perpetrating, perpetuating, persecuting, persisting, perverting, petting, picketing, piloting, pinpointing, pirating, pitting, placating, planting, plating, plotting, plummeting, pocketing, pointing, polluting, pontificating, populating, porting, posting, pouting, precipitating, predicting, predominating, preempting, preexisting, presenting, preventing, printing, procrastinating, profiting, prognosticating, prohibiting, projecting, proliferating, promoting, prompting, promulgating, propagating, prosecuting, prospecting, protecting, protesting, pulsating, purporting, putting, quieting, quilting, quitting, quoting, radiating, ranting, ratcheting, rating, reacting, reactivating, readjusting, reallocating, reasserting, rebutting, recalculating, recanting, recasting, reciprocating, reciting, recollecting, reconnecting, reconstituting, reconstructing, recounting, recreating, recruiting, recuperating, redacting, redecorating, redirecting, redistributing, redistricting, reelecting, reevaluating, refitting, reflecting, refuting, regenerating, regretting, regulating, rehabilitating, reigniting, reincorporating, reinstating, reinstituting, reinterpreting, reinventing, reinvesting, reinvigorating, reiterating, rejecting, rejuvenating, relating, relegating, relenting, relocating, remarketing, renegotiating, renovating, renting, repainting, repatriating, repeating, replanting, replicating, reporting, representing, reprinting, repudiating, requesting, rerouting, resenting, resisting, resonating, resorting, respecting, restarting, restating, resting, restricting, resubmitting, resulting, resurrecting, resuscitating, retaliating, retesting, retracting, retreating, retrofitting, reuniting, reverberating, reverting, revisiting, revolting, rewriting, rioting, riveting, roasting, rocketing, rooting, rotating, rotting, rusting, salivating, salting, saluting, saturating, scapegoating, scouting, sculpting, seating, sedating, segregating, selecting, separating, setting, sheeting, shooting, shorting, shouting, shunting, shutting, sighting, simulating, siting, sitting, skating, skirting, skyrocketing, skywriting, slanting, slighting, slitting, slotting, smarting, smelting, snorting, soliciting, somersaulting, songwriting, sorting, speculating, spitting, splitting, sporting, spotlighting, spotting, spouting, sprinting, sprouting, spurting, squatting, squinting, squirting, stagnating, starting, stating, stimulating, stipulating, strutting, subcontracting, subjecting, submitting, subordinating, substituting, subtracting, subverting, suffocating, suggesting, superconducting, supplanting, supplementing, supporting, surmounting, suspecting, sweating, Sweeting, syndicating, tabulating, tainting, targeting, tasting, taunting, telecommuting, telemarketing, tempting, tenting, terminating, testing, thermosetting, thrusting, thwarting, ticketing, tilting, titillating, toasting, tolerating, tormenting, toting, touting, translating, transmitting, transplanting, transporting, treating, trotting, trumpeting, trusting, twisting, typecasting, typesetting, Typewriting, undercutting, underestimating, underreporting, understating, underwriting, undulating, unexciting, uninteresting, uninviting, uniting, unrelenting, unremitting, unseating, unstinting, unsuspecting, unwitting, updating, uprooting, upsetting, urinating, vacating, vacillating, validating, vaulting, ventilating, venting, vesting, vetting, vibrating, violating, visiting, vomiting, voting, waiting, wanting, wasting, weighting, wetting, whiting, wildcatting, wilting, witting, wresting, writing, yachting. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "d-f-g-i-i-n-r-t" | |
-1 letter: rifting. | |
-2 letters: firing, frigid, nitrid, riding, tiding, tiring, trifid. | |
-3 letters: digit, drift, grift, grind, indri, iring, nitid, rigid. | |
-4 letters: ding, dint, dirt, find, firn, frig, frit, gift, gird, girn, girt, grid, grin, grit, inti, irid, nidi, rift, rind, ring, ting, trig. | |
-5 letters: dig, din, dit, fid, fig, fin, fir, fit, gid, gin, git, nit, rid. | |
| Words containing the letters "d-f-g-i-i-n-r-t" | |
+2 letters: driftingly, gentrified. | |
+3 letters: diffracting. | |
+4 letters: decertifying, denitrifying, devitrifying, fluoridating, interfolding, ungentrified. | |
+5 letters: defibrinating, discomforting, disfigurement, fingerprinted, reidentifying. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)44 72 69 66 74 69 6E 67 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
|
| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
|
| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
|
| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
|
Morse Code (1836) (references)-.. .-. .. ..-. - .. -. --. |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
|
Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000100 01110010 01101001 01100110 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100111 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)D r i f t i n g |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0044 0072 0069 0066 0074 0069 006E 0067 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
|
Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)3884757286758073 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Quotations: Spoken 12. Quotations: Speeches | 13. Usage Frequency 14. Expressions 15. Expressions: Internet 16. Translations: Modern | 17. Derivations 18. Rhymes 19. Anagrams 20. Orthography | 21. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
