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Definition of adrift in English:

adrift

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adverb

  • 1So as to float without being either moored or steered.

    • ‘a cargo ship went adrift’
    drifting, unmoored, unanchored
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    1. 1.1So as to be without purpose, direction, or guidance.
      • ‘she found herself cast adrift in a land full of strangers’
      lost, off course, off track, off the right track, having lost one's bearings, disorientated, disoriented, confused, bewildered, at sea, all at sea
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    2. 1.2 informal So as to be no longer fixed in position.
      • ‘one of my fillings has come adrift’
      loose, free, astray
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Pronunciation

adrift

/əˈdrift/ /əˈdrɪft/

adjective

predicative

  • 1Floating without being either moored or steered.

    • ‘the seamen are adrift in lifeboats’
    drifting, unmoored, unanchored
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    1. 1.1Without purpose, direction, or guidance.
      ‘the film industry was adrift in a sea of debt’
      • ‘the film's focus is a young woman adrift in a city where individuals struggle to make meaningful connections’
      lost, off course, off track, off the right track, having lost one's bearings, disorientated, disoriented, confused, bewildered, at sea, all at sea
      View synonyms

  • 2British informal Failing to reach a target or winning position.

    • ‘they were only a point adrift at the break’
    • ‘the team are three points adrift of the leaders’

Pronunciation

adrift

/əˈdrift/ /əˈdrɪft/

Origin

Late 16th century from a-‘on, in’ + drift.