drift off

phrasal 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

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Segments of the twentieth century’s avant-garde drifted off to lofts and galleries, where the rent was low, wine was cheap, and decorum nonexistent. —

Justin Davidson, Curbed, 16 Oct. 2024 The rest of the country, meanwhile, presumably had drifted off to sleep, unenthused by late-night football between two bottom-half Big Ten teams. —

Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2024 The four of us all had our eye on the same goals in hundreds of ways, and even as that started drifting off, most of us have always been in alignment on most things. —

Josh Chesler, SPIN, 9 Oct. 2024 In many cases the drones have drifted off course for a bit but then returned safely to base. —

Courtney Kube, NBC News, 19 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for drift off