adrift
Americanadjective
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floating without control; drifting; not anchored or moored.
The survivors were adrift in the rowboat for three days.
-
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.
With four nights left before the play-offs, Humphries is five points adrift of Van Gerwen in fourth.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
Cast adrift by US President Donald Trump's immigration policy, the migrants spend their days on their mobile phones, trying to contact their families.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
He shares how students arrive culturally adrift, disconnected from their Punjabi or Indian heritage, and a single song can open a door.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026
This explains the sense Ms. Edebiri exudes of being suddenly marooned and adrift, and in retreat in some way from adulthood.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Put them adrift in space and what they might do is beyond guessing.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
