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driftage

American  
[drif-tij] / ˈdrɪf tɪdʒ /

noun

  1. the action or an amount of drifting.

  2. drifted matter.

  3. Navigation. the amount of drift away from a set course as a result of wind and currents.

  4. windage.


driftage British  
/ ˈdrɪftɪdʒ /

noun

  1. the act of drifting

  2. matter carried along or deposited by drifting

  3. the amount by which an aircraft or vessel has drifted from its intended course

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of driftage

First recorded in 1760–70; drift + -age

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The marls must have been formed largely by the driftage of sand and clay, while some of the limestone was6 produced by accumulation of corals and shells.

From Project Gutenberg

And now both their minds were Londonward, where all the tides and driftage and currents of human thought still meet and swirl together.

From Project Gutenberg

Experience has given directions for its use, avoiding some of the grosser causes of error from driftage and other causes.

From Project Gutenberg

The catastrophe of the Great War did more or less completely awaken a certain limited number of intelligent people to the need of some general control replacing this ancient traditional driftage of events.

From Project Gutenberg

Among caves of driftage may be classed some of those near Liège, in Belgium, and, partially at least, those of Kent's Hole and Brixham, in England.

From Project Gutenberg