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.

If you look at the wins for Forest and now the draw for Leeds, West Ham would have been completely cut adrift.

From BBC • Jan. 26, 2026

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

Despite a miserable run of form, Leicester are by no means cut adrift in the table.

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2025

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

I do not remember experiencing great grief so much as feeling cut adrift.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

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