Drifts refer to the gradual movement or accumulation of materials, often seen in natural environments. For example, in meteorology, snow drifts form when wind blows snow into piles, creating uneven surfaces. Similarly, in geology, sediment drifts occur when particles are transported by water or wind and settle in specific areas. In the context of technology, "drift" can describe the gradual change in the performance of a system over time. For instance, in machine learning, model drift happens when a model's predictions become less accurate due to changes in the underlying data patterns. This can necessitate retraining the model to maintain its effectiveness.