drift apart
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Gradually lose contact or connection with someone
Literally: move away from each other on a stream
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The friends drifted apart after college
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “drift apart” mean?
Gradually lose contact or connection with someone Literally: move away from each other on a stream
Is “drift apart” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.