Drift velocity refers to the average velocity that charged particles, such as electrons, attain due to an electric field in a conductor. When an electric field is applied across a conductor, it causes the free electrons (or charge carriers) to move in a specific direction. However, these electrons are also subject to random thermal motion, which causes them to collide with atoms in the material.
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The drift velocity is a charge carrier population's mean velocity relative to its material's rest frame. It describes the net transport superposed on microscopic motion. For a single species, current density is ; for electrons, reverses the direction. It is distinct from the propagation speed of an electrical disturbance. [ref]
https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-2/pages/9-2-model-of-conduction-in-metals. Ling, Sanny and Moebs, §9.2: drift and transport
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