drift off

verb

To fall asleep slowly.

Similar
nod offfall asleepdope offflake outdrop offdoze offdrowse off
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Meanings

verbdrift off (third-person singular simple present drifts off, present participle drifting off, simple past and past participle drifted off)

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

  1. idiomaticintransitiveTo fall asleep slowly.

    He went to sleep, lying there under a wing of his plane, and presently Bland himself drifted off into dreams.

    1919, B. M. Bower, chapter 5, in The Thunder Bird

    Synonyms: nod off

  2. idiomaticintransitiveTo lose concentration.
  3. intransitiveUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see drift, off.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo fall asleep slowly.

Similar
nod off

More synonyms by meaning

verbchange from a waking to a sleeping state

Similar
fall asleepdope offflake outnod offdrop offdoze offdrowse off
Broader
changealtervary
Also see
dope offdoze offdrop offfall asleepflake outnod off

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

drift off. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drift%20off

MLA

“drift off.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drift%20off. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “drift off,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drift%20off.

Source: drift off on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.