drift off

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
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.
Though Rosado tested positive for a small amount of meth and had been going up to 90 mph, the evidence indicated that Rosado had fallen asleep and that his car drifted off the freeway before hitting a guardrail, Cherney said. — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026 What that means is that spacecraft at the unstable points—L1, L2 and the third Lagrange point (L3)—need regular course corrections to keep them from drifting off into space. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026 At some point on the short route to his school, Grant — apparently tired from a day of classes and extracurriculars — drifted off behind the wheel of his car and went over the yellow line and into oncoming traffic. — Susan Young, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026 Carr and Konkoly would wire everyone up with EEG, perform their lucid-dreaming protocol, and let people drift off. — Veronique Greenwood, Time, 18 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for drift off

Rhymes for drift off

See All Rhymes for drift off

Browse Nearby Words

drift netter
drift off
drift period
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Drift off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drift%20off. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All