set adrift
Left to float
To set adrift is to cast loose from moorings or anchor, letting something float freely on water: The boat was set adrift when its line snapped.
Figuratively, it means to leave someone without direction or support: After the company folded, hundreds of workers were set adrift.
The phrase suggests abandonment and uncertain fate.
- lost at seaMissing in ocean waters
- floatBuoyant object or vehicle
- forsakeAbandon completely
- left behindAbandoned or forgotten
- tideOcean's cyclical swell
unmoored · rootless · put to sea · abandon ship · estranged · current · untethered · wave · aimless · wandering · marooned · loose · raft · boat · bobbing · free-floating · isolate · rudderless