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drifter

drifter

46 5.9
A person who moves from place to place and has no permanent home or steady job
  • noun
  • /ˈdrɪftər/
translation icon : vagabundo
  • As a drifter, she traveled from town to town without ever staying in one place for long.

The other ending could be she meets a good looking drifter and he's a smooth talker, and he says, darling, I want to take you to New York.

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Examples

  • Somewhere along the line, Jack McLaughlin, drifter, had learned at least a modicum of good manners.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Aden was a place of drifters and smugglers.

    Academic text (2001)
  • You are nothing but a drifter who found a bag of mail.

  • Like a drifter, I was born to walk alone

  • "Because he was a drifter," she said.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Thomas was a drifter, by all accounts, and a poor provider.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The best drifter you'll ever meet.

  • He looks like a drifter.

  • The Novaks embraced the young drifter as one of their own.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • He could best be described as an intellectual drifter who failed at many professional endeavors.

Synonyms

tramp
vsdrifter
  • Informal
28 6.1

A person who has no home and travels, often begging or doing casual work

is similar but emphasizes irregular employment rather than begging
nomad
vsdrifter
27 4.4

A person who moves from place to place to find food or work

is individualized, describing a lone person without steady home or job
vagrant
vsdrifter
25 7.7

A person who has no home and moves from place to place, often begging

is broader, stressing movement and lack of steady employment
wanderer
vsdrifter
23 3.9

A person who travels without a fixed home or purpose

focuses more on lack of steady home and employment
vagabond
vsdrifter
15 7.6

A person who moves from place to place without a home or job

is the general idea of moving without permanent home or job
rover
vsdrifter
6 7.0

A person who moves from place to place and has no fixed home

adds the idea of lacking steady work as well as home
rolling stone
vsdrifter
2 4.6

A person who moves often and does not stay in one place

is the neutral description of moving without permanent home or work
wayfarer
vsdrifter
2 7.6

A person who travels on foot from place to place

is broader, including movement without implying travel by walking
roamer
vsdrifter
1 5.1

A person who moves from place to place without staying long

includes both lack of home and irregular work more directly
itinerant
vsdrifter
1 8.0

A person who goes from place to place to find work

is wider, covering movement without implying work as primary reason
floater
vsdrifter
1 8.3

A person who moves from place to place without a home

is the broader label for moving without steady home or job
saddle tramp
vsdrifter
  • US
1 9.6

A person who travels from place to place on horseback without a fixed home

is the general term for moving without a permanent home or job
supertramp
vsdrifter
  • Archaic
9.1

A person who travels without a home and lives by odd jobs

is more neutral, describing moving without steady home or work
like a rolling stone
vsdrifter
  • Informal
8.2

A person who moves from place to place, never staying long

is the everyday term for moving without a permanent home or job
peripatetic
vsdrifter
9.5

A person who travels from place to place for work

is more about general moving without steady home or employment
clochard
vsdrifter
  • Offensive
9.9

A homeless person who lives on the street, often in Paris

is the neutral label for moving without permanent home or regular work

Antonyms

108 4.1

A person who moves to a new area to live and set up a home

8 5.5

A person who likes to stay at home rather than go out

How Settled

homeowner
216 2.5
resident
1.8
itinerant
1 8.0
drifter
46 5.9
vagrant
25 7.7

Surface Forms

drifter singular
drifters plural

Morphology

drifter = drift (transparent) = drift + er

Standard agent noun formation from the verb 'drift'; a learner knowing 'drift' and '-er' can infer 'drifter' as 'one who drifts'.

Etymology

The word drifter comes from drift, which means 'to be carried along', like a ship or a snowdrift that moves without control. So a drifter is someone who moves from place to place, as if life is 'carrying' them, without a fixed home or steady work.