drift net

noun

1. a fishing net supported upright in the water by floats attached along the upper edge and sinkers along the lower, so as to be carried with the current or tide.

drift net

noun

1. a large fishing net supported by floats or attached to a drifter that is allowed to drift with the tide or current

Word History and Origins

Origin of drift net¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

In Somalia, he covered a devastating famine, in Singapore he reported on illegal drift net fishermen and in El Salvador he narrated stories of gang members.

From Washington Post

When an ocean sunfish or mola, a large fish that resembles a plate, was caught in a drift net earlier this year, Nicklen was there with Brock Cahill from Sharkwater to photograph it.

From National Geographic

The group's dramatic video is punctuated by the image of a seal caught in a drift net.

From National Geographic

The water was streaming into the rip in my sweats, pulling them away like a drift net.

From Literature

Until then, researchers like Ebert are left to scouring coastal fish markets for a luckless ghost shark that may have been scooped up in a drift net and put out for sale.

From Time