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Definitions

drifter

[drif-ter] / ˈdrɪf tər /


Example Sentences

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The tag was also, incidentally, a play on “The Blue Dahlia,” a 1946 movie written by Raymond Chandler and starring Veronica Lake as a plucky drifter who helps the hero track down his wife’s murderer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

A drifter and petty criminal, he had spent much of his time between 2000 and 2017 in the Algarve.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2025

“A man makes his choices,” Baldwin’s crusty, guilt-ridden drifter says to his grandkid at one point.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2025

It might have helped if Siff had a sturdier partner, but Alexander’s wan emo sensibility lacks the haunted charisma of a sexy drifter attempting to move on from his past.

From New York Times ● Jul. 18, 2023

I am a drifter, and as lonely as that can be, it is also remarkably freeing.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

In “Moby-Dick,” Herman Melville describes Nantucket as an “ant hill in the sea,” an isolated outpost for whalers and drifters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

Collected by gliders, floats and drifters, these instruments provide valuable information about the most turbulent region of the hurricane environment, called the boundary layer, where the air meets the ocean.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2025

Juliette Lewis has played murderers, drifters, alcoholics, punk rockers, Reiki healers and roller-derby captains.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2025

He welcomed her into his commune of misfits and drifters, which called itself the Family and coalesced at a ranch outside of Los Angeles, where she found herself captivated by his wild-eyed charisma.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 28, 2023

Then we saw the swinging lanterns, the sheriff and his deputies coming along behind to keep the drifters moving.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck


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