drift away

present singular third person drifts away · participle present drifting away · participle past drifted away · past drifted away

1. To slowly move away from a point, especially if on water.

   Watch the seafoam drift away from your feet.

   2 more examples

   Drift away, drift away, 'mong the green islands, Lower the sail and away with the oar; Sing away, sing away, birds in the highlands, Answer the waves on the coral-strewn shore.

   1884, Princeton University, Our Little Ones and the Nursery, volume 11, Estes and Lauriat, page 323

   He slowly lets the oar slide into the water, then does the same with the other oar, watching as they slowly drift away.

   2000, William Broyles, Cast Away, HarperCollins, page 72

2. To lose connection to a person, philosophy, or group over time.

   I used to be close to it, but then I began to drift away.

   3 more examples

   THEY drift away. Ah, God! they drift for ever.

   1872, Charles Kingsley, Poems by Charles Kingsley, Macmillan, page 315

   A teacher who allows his class to drift away should be allowed to drift away himself, and his place taken by one who has grit and grace enough to hold the class.

   1850, H. Harbaugh, editor, The Guardian Volumes 37–38, page 216

   Over time soldiers began to drift away from the national cause.

   2006, Robert Kendall Brigham, ARVN (Life and Death in the South Vietnamese Army), University Press of Kansas, page 47