a large fishing net supported by floats or attached to a drifter that is allowed to drift with the tide or current
drift net in American English
noun
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
Word origin
[1840–50]This word is first recorded in the period 1840–50. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: bypass, colloid, plaque, set piece, striation
Examples of 'drift net' in a sentence
drift net
European drift nets used to target tuna and swordfish are thought to capture more than 60,000 sharks each year.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The resort has set up its own turtle sanctuary for injured animals caught in drift nets.
The Sun (2017)
Britain has 250 vessels that use small drift nets to catch herring, mackerel, bass and mullet, and have an insignificant by-catch.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
But then fishing fleets became industrialized; sunken baited long lines and less discriminate drift nets were deployed, and swordfish were caught by the thousand.