What does drift mean?
Word: Drift
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Drift means to be carried along slowly by moving water or air, without any control.
Synonyms: float, wander
How do you spell drift?
Syllables: drift
Tricky part: The word ends with two consonants, f and t. Children often drop the t (drif) or double the f.
Watch out for: drif, drifft, dryft
Memory tip: The t at the end is a tiny anchor: leave it off and drif floats away unfinished.
Idioms and Phrases
- get the drift: to understand the main idea of what someone is saying Example: "I did not hear every word, but I got the drift of the story."
Drift in a sentence
Example 1: The paper boat began to drift down the stream after the rain.
Example 2: Clouds drift slowly across the sky over the hills of Scotland.
Example 3: My thoughts started to drift during the long assembly.
Fun Fact
The continents move a few centimetres every year. Scientists call this slow movement continental drift.
Practise the CREST Way
Sound Check
Which word rhymes with drift?
a) fist
b) shift
c) draft
d) drive
Show answer
b) shift. Shift keeps the short i and the f-t ending; draft changes the vowel, and drive and fist end differently.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
tfidr 12345
a) 43521
b) 54321
c) 45321
d) 45312
Show answer
c) 45321. Read letters 4, 5, 3, 2 and 1 and you get d, r, i, f and t.
Word Champ
In which option are the given words arranged in alphabetical order?
1. drink 2. drift 3. drill
a) 321
b) 231
c) 213
d) 123
Show answer
b) 231. All three start with dri, so look at the fourth letter: f comes before l, and l before n.
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) begin : start
b) shout : yell
c) drift : float
d) tiney : small
Show answer
d) tiney : small. Tiny has no e in it: t-i-n-y.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is most likely to drift?
a) a tree trunk in the soil
b) a leaf on a river
c) a rock on the ground
d) a parked car
Show answer
b) a leaf on a river
2. The balloon drifted away. This means the balloon
a) fell straight to the ground
b) stayed tied to the gate post
c) burst with a loud bang
d) moved slowly with the wind
Show answer
d) moved slowly with the wind
