as in nomads
a person who roams about without a fixed route or destination
the drifter just packed up and moved on to the next dead-end job
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of drifters
The scene inspired future comedy gags showing drifters and tramps losing their pants to dogs chasing them.
—
Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 29 Jan. 2026
Meeting drifters and friendly folk along the way, Alvin is doggedly determined to make amends while facing ailments of his own.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Jan. 2026
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
Most of them were migrant workers, young drifters, and then some co-renters.
—Jack Hargreaves, The Dial, 9 Sep. 2025
Entrants included everything from historic race cars to JDM drifters, time attack competition cars and off-roaders.
—Trinity Francis, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Our study, published in the journal Nature in November 2022, describes a new method to infer tropical cyclone intensity from ocean currents, which are already being measured by an army of drifters.
—Shang-Ping Xie, The Conversation, 29 Nov. 2022
Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 29 Jan. 2026
Meeting drifters and friendly folk along the way, Alvin is doggedly determined to make amends while facing ailments of his own.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Jan. 2026
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
Most of them were migrant workers, young drifters, and then some co-renters.
—Jack Hargreaves, The Dial, 9 Sep. 2025
Entrants included everything from historic race cars to JDM drifters, time attack competition cars and off-roaders.
—Trinity Francis, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Our study, published in the journal Nature in November 2022, describes a new method to infer tropical cyclone intensity from ocean currents, which are already being measured by an army of drifters.
—Shang-Ping Xie, The Conversation, 29 Nov. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drifters
Noun
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Another camp speculates that these forebears met human nomads on the trail of big game and started traveling with them, eventually arriving in China via Mongolia through their supporting role as war dogs.—
Andrew Norman Wilson,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
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Design devotees, creative professionals, and global nomads who value understatement over flash.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
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These ancient wanderers, like comet 3I/ATLAS, are cosmic time capsules.—
Paul Sutter,
Space.com,
9 Feb. 2026
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There’s a cast of wanderers, visionaries, and itinerants, the self-educated and self-published, a long lineage of cranks and outcasts, mostly penurious, always opinionated, stretching away into the mists of pseudohistory.—
Hari Kunzru,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Some flights have departed major Middle Eastern hubs, including Dubai and Jeddah, but many travelers are still scrambling to find ways out of the region.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
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Ashlee covers the world’s most extraordinary destinations, with a particular fascination for high-end hospitality, historic estates, UNESCO World Heritage sites, and culturally significant landmarks that captivate the imagination of travelers worldwide.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Drifters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drifters. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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