cut adrift

Idioms

Separated or detached; freed. For example, The dissenters were cut adrift from the denomination. This expression alludes to cutting the rope of a floating vessel so that it drifts without direction or purpose. The figurative use of adrift dates from the late 1600s.

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.

It is a disastrous result for Nuno Espirito Santo's men, who are in danger of being cut adrift at the bottom of the Premier League along with Wolves and Burnley.

From Barron's • Jan. 3, 2026

At 53-2 and 149-4, England clung on before being cut adrift by Head.

From BBC • Dec. 19, 2025

Recalling the time of his daughter's disappearance, Mr Lee said: ''We were on a lifeboat cut adrift, floundering with no one to guide us and hold our hand.''

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2024

No one has been cut adrift in the fight for survival with just three points separating Leicester in 14th and bottom-of-the-table Southampton.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 21, 2023

My confused feeling for her had been holding me back, and I had clung to her out of my fear of being forced out on my own, and cut adrift.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023