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

drift netter, drift transistor, drift tube, driftage, driftbolt, drifter, driftfish, drifting cloud, the, driftless area, driftpin, driftwood

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

drifter

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of drifter

Examples from the Web for drifter

British Dictionary definitions for drifter

drifter

noun