drift off
phrasal verb
drifted off; drifting off; drifts off
informal
: to fall asleep
She drifted off while I was still talking.
He gradually drifted off to sleep.
Examples of drift off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The two disturbances that never fully materialized appeared between July 12 and July 23 and drifted off to the west, causing rain across North Florida and along the Gulf Coast into Louisiana.
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Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025
Their ability to suss out the strategy seems to be linked with the depth of their sleep: 85.7 percent of the people who reached N2 sleep during their nap figured it out, compared with just 63.6 percent of those who reached N1 sleep and 55.5 percent of those who did not drift off to sleep.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 June 2025
For a blissful wind-down in your suite, luxuriate in the Roman-style mosaics and Italian marble bathroom before drifting off to sleep.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 16 July 2025
Squeezed between us in the bed, my daughter listened wide-eyed to the storm before drifting off to sleep.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for drift off
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Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025
Their ability to suss out the strategy seems to be linked with the depth of their sleep: 85.7 percent of the people who reached N2 sleep during their nap figured it out, compared with just 63.6 percent of those who reached N1 sleep and 55.5 percent of those who did not drift off to sleep.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 June 2025
For a blissful wind-down in your suite, luxuriate in the Roman-style mosaics and Italian marble bathroom before drifting off to sleep.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 16 July 2025
Squeezed between us in the bed, my daughter listened wide-eyed to the storm before drifting off to sleep.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for drift off
Cite this Entry
“Drift off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drift%20off. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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