adrift
/əˈdɹɪft/adjective, adverb
adrift is spelled A-D-R-I-F-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 26,776th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, adrift means “Floating at random” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in adrift?
| Letters | 6: A-D-R-I-F-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 26,776th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is adrift?
Adrift appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 26,776th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce adrift?
- /əˈdɹɪft/
Adrift has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-adrift.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-adrift.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of adrift
- more adrift comparative
- most adrift superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does adrift mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Floating at random.
- 2
Absent from his watch.
- 3
UKBehind one's opponents, or below a required threshold in terms of score, number or position.
The team were six points adrift of their rivals.
adverb
- 1
In a drifting condition; at the mercy of wind and waves.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Adrift in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | à la dérive |
| German | abtreibend , abtreiben |
| Portuguese | à deriva |
| Spanish | a la deriva |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does adrift come from?
From a- + drift.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).