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Having no drift or direction; without aim; purposeless.

To impel or urge onward by force in a direction away from one, or along before one; to push forward; to compel to move on; to communicate motion to; as, to drive cattle; to drive a nail; smoke drives persons from a room. A storm came on and drove them into Pylos. Jowett (Thucyd. ). Shield pressed on shield, and man dro…

Guidance; direction. [Obs.] Hammond.

A curved member instead of an abrupt change of direction, as in a baseboard, hand rail, etc.

ing point on the earth; that one of the four cardinal points of the compass which is in a direction at right angles to that of north and south, and which is toward the right hand of one who faces the north; the point directly opposite to the west. The east began kindle. E. Everett.

Toward, or in the direction of, the east.

Going toward the east, or in the direction of east; as, an eastern voyage. Eastern Church. See Greek Church, under Greek.

Toward the east; in the direction of east from some point or place; as, New Haven lies eastward from New York.

To take position in echelon. Change direction to the left, echelon by battalion from the right. Upton (Tactics).

A current of air or water running back, or in a direction contrary to the main current.

to approach by slow degrees, as when a sailing vessel approaches an object in an oblique direction from the windward. -- To edge in, to get in edgewise; to get in by degrees. -- To edge in with, as with a coast or vessel (Naut.), to advance gradually, but not directly, toward it.

In the direction of the edge. [Obs.] Three hundred thousand pieces have you stuck Edgelong into the ground. B. Jonson.

With the edge towards anything; in the direction of the edge. Glad to get in a word, as they say, edgeways. Sir W. Scott.

A force acting on a body in the direction of its motion. Rankine.

ng forces. Rankine. -- Elastic fluids, those which have the property of expanding in all directions on the removal of external pressure, as the air, steam, and other gases and vapors. -- Elastic limit (Mech.), the limit of distortion, by bending, stretching, etc., that a body can undergo and yet return to its origina…

An instrument used to change the direction of electric currents; a commutator. [R.]

ng itself when in disturbed equilibrium or in activity by a circuit movement, the fact of direction in which involves polarity, or opposition of properties in opposite directions; also, by attraction for many substances, by a law involving attraction between surfaces of unlike polarity, and repulsion between those of l…

onsist in the rapid alternation of transient electric currents moving transversely to the direction of the ray.

o, the angle of elevation, that is, the angle between the axis of the piece and the line odirection.

To write or print (a memorandum, direction, or the like) on the face of a draft, bill, etc.; as, to enface the words "Payable in Calcutta" upon the face of a draft.