NYT Dictionary

DRIFT

/dɹɪft/
NounVerbDRIFTGrade 4

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2019, 2020, 2024

Meaning

Movement; that which moves or is moved.

Etymology

Origin: Old English

From Middle English drift, dryft (“act of driving, drove, shower of rain or snow, impulse”), from Old English *drift (“drift”), from Proto-Germanic *driftiz (“drift”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- (“to drive, push”). Equivalent to drive + -t; cognate with North Frisian drift (“drift”), Saterland Frisian Drift (“current, flow, stream, drift”), Dutch drift (“drift, passion, urge”), German Drift (“drift”) and Trift (“drove, pasture”), Danish drift (“impulse, instinct”), Swedish drift (“impulse, instinct”), Icelandic drift (“drift, snow-drift”).

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

droveflockswerveimpetusimpulsiontrendmovementpurportaberrationadvance

NYT Puzzle Appearances

Accepted in 1 recorded puzzle:

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