: one that drifts
especially
: one that travels or moves about aimlessly
Examples of drifter in a Sentence
He was a drifter who hitchhiked from state to state.
the drifter just packed up and moved on to the next dead-end job
Recent Examples on the Web
Poitier stars as Homer Smith, a drifter who turns up in a small Arizona town and helps a group of nuns construct a chapel for the local community.
—
EW.com, 2 Mar. 2025
He wasn’t seen as a drifter weirdo, but embraced as a friend and a brother.
—Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2025
Joey is a drifter working odd jobs and hardly making ends meet.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 2 Feb. 2025
The season picks up as Reacher, now a drifter, becomes embroiled in a rescue mission of an undercover DEA informant while confronting his own haunted past, according to Prime Video.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for drifter
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EW.com, 2 Mar. 2025
He wasn’t seen as a drifter weirdo, but embraced as a friend and a brother.
—Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2025
Joey is a drifter working odd jobs and hardly making ends meet.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 2 Feb. 2025
The season picks up as Reacher, now a drifter, becomes embroiled in a rescue mission of an undercover DEA informant while confronting his own haunted past, according to Prime Video.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for drifter
Cite this Entry
“Drifter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drifter. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
drifter
noun
drift·er
ˈdrif-tər 
: one that drifts
especially
: a person who travels about without purpose
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