adrift

American  

[uh-drift] / əˈdrɪft /

adjective

1. floating without control; drifting; not anchored or moored.

   The survivors were adrift in the rowboat for three days.

2. lacking aim, direction, or stability.

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adrift British  

/ əˈdrɪft /

adjective

1. floating without steering or mooring; drifting

2. without purpose; aimless

3. informal off course or amiss

   the project went adrift

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Etymology

Origin of adrift

First recorded in 1615–25; a- ¹ + drift

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.

Example Sentences

Despite hitting every fairway, the American struggled to convert several birdie opportunities and sits seven shots adrift.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

This country is tiled with adrift twentysomething males, beset with incoherent politics, whose opinion about any issue is generated in the 10 seconds after they’ve been asked the question.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026

Even the most privileged among us occasionally find ourselves adrift and ill-equipped to deal with our own capsized lives.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

The club had been a point off the play-off places after a 3-2 win at Hull City on 7 February, but are now 12 points adrift of the top six.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

Then a fog rolled in, misting me clean through—no pain, no thoughts, nothing but wet gray haze, like I’d been set adrift in a boat at dawn.

From "Worth" by A. LaFaye

Related Words

• afloat