drift vs knockdown

drift

noun
  • The distance a vessel is carried off from her desired course by the wind, currents, or other causes. 

  • Driftwood included in flotsam washed up onto the beach. 

  • The horizontal thrust or pressure of an arch or vault upon the abutments. 

  • The act or motion of drifting; the force which impels or drives; an overpowering influence or impulse. 

  • A place (a ford) along a river where the water is shallow enough to permit crossing to the opposite side. 

  • The distance between the two blocks of a tackle. 

  • A sideways movement of the ball through the air, when bowled by a spin bowler. 

  • Slow, cumulative change. 

  • A passage driven or cut between shaft and shaft; a driftway; a small subterranean gallery; an adit or tunnel. 

  • In New Forest National Park, UK, the bi-annual round-up of wild ponies in order to be sold. 

  • 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 retreat of continental glaciers, such as that which buries former river valleys and creates young river valleys. 

  • 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. 

  • 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. 

  • A mass of matter which has been driven or forced onward together in a body, or thrown together in a heap, etc., especially by wind or water. 

  • A tool used to insert or extract a removable pin made of metal or hardwood, for the purpose of aligning and/or securing two pieces of material together. 

  • The angle which the line of a ship's motion makes with the meridian, in drifting. 

  • 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. 

  • That which is driven, forced, or urged along. 

  • The distance through which a current flows in a given time. 

  • Course or direction along which anything is driven; setting. 

  • A tool used to pack down the composition contained in a rocket, or like firework. 

  • A deviation from the line of fire, peculiar to obloid projectiles. 

  • Minor deviation of audio or video playback from its correct speed. 

  • 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. 

  • The situation where a performer gradually and unintentionally moves from their proper location within the scene. 

  • Anything driven at random. 

  • A drove or flock, as of cattle, sheep, birds. 

verb
  • To deviate gently from the intended direction of travel. 

  • To move slowly, especially pushed by currents of water, air, etc. 

  • To move haphazardly without any destination. 

  • To drive or carry, as currents do a floating body. 

  • To drive into heaps. 

  • To accumulate in heaps by the force of wind; to be driven into heaps. 

  • To make a drift; to examine a vein or ledge for the purpose of ascertaining the presence of metals or ores; to follow a vein; to prospect. 

  • To oversteer a vehicle, causing loss of traction, while maintaining control from entry to exit of a corner. See Drifting (motorsport). 

  • To enlarge or shape, as a hole, with a drift. 

knockdown

noun
  • The condition of a sailboat being pushed abruptly to horizontal, with the mast parallel to the water surface. 

  • An act of knocking down or the condition of being knocked down. 

  • A shelter erected for use as a temporary dressing room. 

  • A collection of parts required to assemble a product, typically manufactured in one region and exported elsewhere for assembly. 

  • a short pass played downwards, for example from the head onto someone's feet. 

  • A genetically modified organism that carries one or more genes in its chromosomes that have been made less active or had their expression reduced. 

  • The use of a reagent such as an oligonucleotide with sequence complementary to an active gene or its mRNA transcript, to interfere with the expression of said gene. 

  • An overwhelming blow. 

verb
  • To employ the knockdown technique 

adj
  • To be formed into a head by upsetting in fastening. 

  • reduced in price, originally to a price below which an article would not be sold by the auctioneer 

  • powerful enough to overwhelm or knock down 

  • Capable of being taken apart for packing or removal. 

How often have the words drift and knockdown occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )