drifted

past tense of drift

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of drifted But in the decade since Newsom came to Sacramento, the industry has drifted to the right. Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2025 Per the Florida Highway Patrol, the 44-year-old woman, who has not been named, was driving a Kia sedan southbound on the highway, and then drifted into the northbound lane. David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025 Kirk believed universities had drifted away from teaching critical skills like writing and problem solving, focusing instead on conformity while saddling students with debt. Preston Fore, Fortune, 22 Sep. 2025 The aroma drifted from the breakroom onto the floor, and customers would often ask if there was enough to share. Big Think, 22 Sep. 2025 The South Carolina Highway Patrol (SCHP) said at the time that the crash took place on Dutch Fork Road in Richland County, where Johnson's Nissan Pathfinder drifted over the center line and collided with Robertson's Chevrolet Tahoe, per WIS-TV. Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 21 Sep. 2025 Virginia, once a battleground, has drifted leftward over the past decade and is now viewed as a reliably Democratic state despite Youngkin's victory in 2021. Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025 Given time, a loyal fanbase might have slowly drifted toward new shows and obsessions. Thomas Page, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025 Occasionally a curious polar bear meandered near camp, which was always changing as the ice floe buckled and drifted across the Arctic Ocean. Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drifted
Verb
  • The show looks at the creativity that flowed from the club, and its impact on popular culture, from fashion and music, to film, art and design.
    Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 21 Sep. 2025
  • Time flowed past indifferently above us; hours and days had no meaning.
    Garth Greenwell, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Antimony also has hovered at record prices this year, with current values placing the mine’s reserve at about $3 billion.
    Kevin Fixler September 20, Idaho Statesman, 20 Sep. 2025
  • When renting, Tang said their winter gas bills hovered around $120.
    Lizzie Kane, Boston Herald, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • From a tiny blind dog who wandered the streets of North Carolina, to a sweet boxer mix struggling with kennel stress in Texas, here are some recent shelter stories from across the country.
    Real-Time News team, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
  • The guitars and drums chugged along in tandem, as each band member casually wandered across the surprisingly detailed set, which included rocky levels, spitfire lasers, and even a fully functional waterfall.
    Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 23 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • What looked like an errant football snap sailed over Torkelson’s head and rolled deep down the first-base line.
    Zack Meisel, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
  • With Ryan O’Hearn up, both runners advanced when White Sox starter Sean Burke’s pick-off throw to first base sailed a little wide and rolled to the side wall.
    Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The president has publicly floated the idea of removing him, arguing that higher borrowing costs threatened economic growth and undermined his administration’s policies.
    Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025
  • Mike Bishop, a former congressman who expressed interest in July, continues to be floated as a candidate as well.
    David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 22 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Another roamed through the crowd.
    Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Investigators previously said the boy was shot inside the school, where the attacker roamed the halls for about nine minutes and shot at several areas before leaving the building.
    Katie Langford, Denver Post, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Yohannes delivered a long ball from Lyonnes’ half that Chawinga glided onto, catching Earps off her line and lifting it past the English goalkeeper to find the back of the net.
    Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Elsewhere, Mariacarla Boscono glided through in Gucci, Donatella Versace traded words with Grigor Dimitrov, and a sea of Bottega Veneta clutches dotted the crowd.
    Sofia Viganò, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Not wanting to run immediately after the season, Jenkins instead swam to get in his cardio work.
    Dan Hayes, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
  • The Herald also found a pile of wet clothes, two children’s backpacks and food at the end of a street in Tavernier where the ocean meets the shore, suggesting the group swam to land and changed into dry clothing.
    Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Drifted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drifted. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on drifted

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!