drifter

[ drif-ter ]

/ ˈdrɪf tər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR drifter ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that drifts.

a person who goes from place to place, job to job, etc., remaining in each for a short period.

Also called drift boat. a boat used in fishing with a drift net.

Nearby words

Origin of drifter

First recorded in 1860–65; drift + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for drifter

He had invited a 19-year-old drifter named Arnold Murray to his house and they had had consensual sex.
The Castration of Alan Turing, Britain’s Code-Breaking WWII Hero|Clive Irving|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Still living in Australia, he had become a drifter, unable to hold down a job.
Handcuffs, Ropes, and an Open Window: How I Escaped an Unthinkable Childhood|Genyfer Spark|January 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Skipper of Drifter (who has been fined thirty-five shillings for losing a pair of binoculars).
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 153, Sept. 19, 1917|Various
We sped by a lightship, the drifter having only one dim glim at her masthead.
The Secrets of a Kuttite|Edward O. Mousley

As I look back on it, it strikes me I always have been more or less of a drifter.
J. Poindexter, Colored|Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb
At best he will become an indifferent citizen; at worst a drifter or a criminal.
Think|Col. Wm. C. Hunter
The crew were rapidly picked up by the boat from the other drifter, none the worse for their adventure.
The Harwich Naval Forces|E. F. Knight

British Dictionary definitions for drifter

drifter

/ (ˈdrɪftə) /

noun

a person or thing that drifts

a person who moves aimlessly from place to place, usually without a regular job

a boat used for drift-net fishing

nautical a large jib of thin material used in light breezes

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for drifter

drifter

1864, as a mining term; 1883, "boat fishing with drift-nets;" agent noun from drift (v.). Meaning "vagrant" is from 1908.

drifter

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of drifter

Examples from the Web for drifter

drifter

noun

drifter