adrift
Americanadjective
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floating without control; drifting; not anchored or moored.
The survivors were adrift in the rowboat for three days.
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lacking aim, direction, or stability.
adjective
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floating without steering or mooring; drifting
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without purpose; aimless
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informal off course or amiss
the project went adrift
Etymology
Origin of adrift
Explanation
If something's adrift, it's floating, not tied down or anchored. A raft that's adrift on a river will float downstream. If a ship goes adrift, it meanders off course, simply traveling with the water rather than on a charted course. Likewise, if you feel your life has gone figuratively adrift, you may have lost track of your plans and feel like you're wandering without a purpose. The word adrift comes from the sense of drift that means "a slow movement from one place to another," from an Old Norse root word.
Vocabulary lists containing adrift
Illegal
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Charlotte's Web
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The Young Man and the Sea
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was a sad figure adrift, a relic virtually alone until he was hunted down by the CIA and French intelligence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
A 50-year-old father and his two sons have been rescued after they were found adrift off the Thai island of Koh Samui, a local official told AFP on Saturday.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Some of the medical and scientific skepticism is a result of people feeling adrift in a rapidly changing world and drowning in competing information.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
That feeling of being adrift without knowing where to turn is what the filmmakers built the movie around.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Outside the church, I’m adrift in a sea of anacos and gold beads and blue ponchos; only a few other people are dressed like mestizos.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
