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.
But her efforts are no match for a big storm that sets the house adrift in the wild sea.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
Their actions, casting adrift the ship's captain William Bligh, have been immortalised in books and film.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Rangers are seven points adrift of the league leaders and four points behind defending champions Celtic, with second place still earning a shot at Champions League qualification.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
Verstappen's team-mate Isack Hadjar, who had had a promising start to his Red Bull career, was left trailing, 0.825secs adrift of the Dutchman in ninth.
From BBC • May 2, 2026
But she could not contain her desperation, her sense of being adrift once again.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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.
