: the act or activity of steering an automobile so that it makes a controlled skid sideways through a turn with the front wheels pointed in a direction opposite to that of the turn
Drifting began in the early 1980s with a Japanese race-car driver named Keiichi Tsuchiya. Mr. Tsuchiya, who was in his 20s, started experimenting with drifting and practiced it on curvy roads deep in the mountains near his hometown. He says he was perfecting his ability to not spin out on curves in car races. Norihiko Shirouzu et al.
also : a sport in which drivers compete at this activity
Drifting has nothing to do with racing. There's no checkered flag. It's more like figure skating than speed skating, with a three-judge panel awarding points based on speed, angle of attack and style. They take points away for going off course, stalling or running into course markers—including walls. And for driving straight: The goal is to control the car as it slides sideways around turns, as if on ice, at full throttle. W. J. Hennigan

Examples of drifting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Amidst the constant changes in Earth’s magnetic field, the most notable one is the drifting of the magnetic north pole. Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 26 Dec. 2024 Arlo’s drifting in and out of whatever weird thing is possessing him, and there’s some banter between siblings that prompts Valeria to mention the hiding-in-the-oven story James just told her. James Grebey, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1998, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of drifting was in 1998

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Cite this Entry

“Drifting.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drifting. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.

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