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.
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 That’s because any additional smoke generated from the fire would drift off into Nevada as opposed to California due to prevailing wind patterns, Fuentes said. Paris Barraza, USA Today, 25 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 Some ways to do that include getting lost in a funny movie, reading a good story, or using a travel pillow to drift off to sleep. Jasmine Gomez, Travel + Leisure, 5 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for drift off

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Drift off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drift%20off. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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