: one that drifts
especially
: one that travels or moves about aimlessly
Synonyms of drifter
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
The logger and railsplitter occasionally encounters American eccentrics, like a chatty drifter prone to sporting bible verses and an old coot of a demolitions expert with a philosophical bent.
—
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2025
His curiosity is mirrored by that of Lewis Moon, a free-spirited drifter with both Cheyenne and Choctaw ancestry, who has been contracted by the government to drop bombs on the Niaruna, in an effort to scatter the tribe.
—Maggie Doherty, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
The drifter who confessed to killing an inventor and his wife was executed Tuesday night, more than three decades after the double murder in their Miami business.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
In any case, these are Beckett’s drifters, no doubt, right down to the aching feet and bad breath.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for drifter
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David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2025
His curiosity is mirrored by that of Lewis Moon, a free-spirited drifter with both Cheyenne and Choctaw ancestry, who has been contracted by the government to drop bombs on the Niaruna, in an effort to scatter the tribe.
—Maggie Doherty, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
The drifter who confessed to killing an inventor and his wife was executed Tuesday night, more than three decades after the double murder in their Miami business.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
In any case, these are Beckett’s drifters, no doubt, right down to the aching feet and bad breath.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 28 Sep. 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 11 Dec. 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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