drifter
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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A swaggering drifter named Hal Carter arrives in town looking for work, and by sunset he has thrown the community, especially the fragile Madge Owens, into emotional turmoil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
An unearthed archive of an art lover's interviews with an ageing LS Lowry have revealed he saw himself as "a drifter" who knew a lot of people but "never had a girl".
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2024
This drifter comes in and says there is nothing wrong with this Asian family, and folks should resist groupthink.
From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2024
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
McCandless had tried to disguise the fact that he was a drifter living out of a backpack: He told his fellow employees that he lived across the river in Laughlin.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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What she found was that many of these drifters were tired of doing nothing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Bunney described jellyfish as weak swimmers or "passive drifters" which rely on ocean currents to carry them.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Juliette Lewis has played murderers, drifters, alcoholics, punk rockers, Reiki healers and roller-derby captains.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2025
In San Antonio and Butte and Cheyenne and Reliance they would meet miners, rodeo hands, slaughterhouse workers, bartenders, drifters, janitors and motel maids.
From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2023
From my window I watched the swaying lanterns, and ahead of them the slumping figures of the drifters, heading for the next town.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
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