[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

continental drift \continental drift\
   the movements of continents relative to each other across the
   earth's surface; see plate tectonics.
   pjc
see also:
plate tectonics 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

drift \drift\, n. from drive; akin to lg.  d. drift a
   driving, icel. drift snowdrift, dan. drift, impulse, drove,
   herd, pasture, common, g. trift pasturage, drove. see
   drive.
   1. a driving; a violent movement.
      1913 webster

            the dragon drew him self away with drift of his
            wings.                                --king
                                                  alisaunder
                                                  1332.
      1913 webster

   2. the act or motion of drifting; the force which impels or
      drives; an overpowering influence or impulse.
      1913 webster

            a bad man, being under the drift of any passion,
            will follow the impulse of it till something
            interpose.                            --south.
      1913 webster

   3. course or direction along which anything is driven;
      setting. "our drift was south." --hakluyt.
      1913 webster

   4. the tendency of an act, argument, course of conduct, or
      the like; object aimed at or intended; intention; hence,
      also, import or meaning of a sentence or discourse; aim.
      1913 webster

            he has made the drift of the whole poem a compliment
            on his country in general.            -- addison.
      1913 webster

            now thou knowest my drift.            --sir w.
                                                  scott.
      1913 webster

   5. that which is driven, forced, or urged along; as:
      a anything driven at random. "some log . . . a useless
          drift." --dryden.
      b a mass of matter which has been driven or forced
          onward together in a body, or thrown together in a
          heap, etc., esp. by wind or water; as, a drift of
          snow, of ice, of sand, and the like.
          1913 webster

                drifts of rising dust involve the sky. -- pope.
          1913 webster

                we got the brig a good bed in the rushing drift
                of ice.                         --kane.
      c a drove or flock, as of cattle, sheep, birds. obs.
          1913 webster

                cattle coming over the bridge with their great
                drift doing much damage to the high ways. --
                                                  fuller.
          1913 webster

   6. arch. the horizontal thrust or pressure of an arch or
      vault upon the abutments. r. --knight.
      1913 webster

   7. geol. a collection of loose earth and rocks, or
      boulders, which have been distributed over large portions
      of the earth's surface, especially in latitudes north of
      forty degrees, by the agency of ice.
      1913 webster

   8. in south africa, a ford in a river.
      1913 webster

   9. mech. a slightly tapered tool of steel for enlarging or
      shaping a hole in metal, by being forced or driven into or
      through it; a broach.
      1913 webster

   10. mil.
       a a tool used in driving down compactly the composition
           contained in a rocket, or like firework.
       b a deviation from the line of fire, peculiar to oblong
           projectiles.
           1913 webster

   11. mining a passage driven or cut between shaft and shaft;
       a driftway; a small subterranean gallery; an adit or
       tunnel.
       1913 webster

   12. naut.
       a the distance through which a current flows in a given
           time.
       b the angle which the line of a ship's motion makes
           with the meridian, in drifting.
       c the distance to which a vessel is carried off from
           her desired course by the wind, currents, or other
           causes.
       d the place in a deep-waisted vessel where the sheer is
           raised and the rail is cut off, and usually
           terminated with a scroll, or driftpiece.
       e the distance between the two blocks of a tackle.
           1913 webster

   13. the difference between the size of a bolt and the hole
       into which it is driven, or between the circumference of
       a hoop and that of the mast on which it is to be driven.
       1913 webster

   14. phys. geog. one of the slower movements of oceanic
       circulation; a general tendency of the water, subject to
       occasional or frequent diversion or reversal by the wind;
       as, the easterly drift of the north pacific.
       webster 1913 suppl.

   15. a"eronautics the horizontal component of the pressure
       of the air on the sustaining surfaces of a flying
       machine. the lift is the corresponding vertical
       component, which sustains the machine in the air.
       webster 1913 suppl.

   note: drift is used also either adjectively or as the first
         part of a compound. see drift, a.
         1913 webster

   drift of the forest o. eng. law, an examination or view
      of the cattle in a forest, in order to see whose they are,
      whether they are commonable, and to determine whether or
      not the forest is surcharged. --burrill. 1913 webster

   continental drift geology, the very slow ca. 1-5 cm per
      year movement of the continents and parts of continents
      relative to each other and to the points of upwelling of
      magma in the viscous layers beneath the continents; --
      causing, for example, the opening of the south atlantic
      ocean by the movement of africa and south america away
      from each other. see also plate tectonics.
      pjc
see also:
drive drive drift drift of the forest continental drift plate tectonics 

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

continental drift
     n : the gradual movement and formation of continents as
         described by plate tectonics

[4] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

continental drift
     
        in 1980 david turner remarked that krc ran "at the speed
        of the continental drift".
     
        1994-12-06
     
     
see also:
david turner krc 

Continental >> C Words
Continental, definition of term: Continental
continental_pag1.html

Drift >> D Words
Drift, definition of term: Drift
drift_pag1.html

Drift Off >> D Words
Drift Off, definition of term: Drift Off
drift+off_pag1.html

Continental Slo >> C Words
Continental Slo, definition of term: Continental Slo
continental+slo_pag1.html

Continental She >> C Words
Continental She, definition of term: Continental She
continental+she_pag1.html

Continental Gla >> C Words
Continental Gla, definition of term: Continental Gla
continental+gla_pag1.html

Continental Con >> C Words
Continental Con, definition of term: Continental Con
continental+con_pag1.html

Continental Div >> C Words
Continental Div, definition of term: Continental Div
continental+div_pag1.html

Continental Dri >> C Words
Continental Dri, definition of term: Continental Dri
continental+dri_pag1.html