float

[float]

Float is what you do when you're lying on the water. Hopefully you know how to swim, so you can float suspended on the surface of the water, rather than sinking straight to the bottom.

...

Anything which floats or rests on the surface of a fluid, as to sustain weight, or to indicate the height of the surface, or mark the place of, something

Noun
something that remains on the surface of a liquid

Noun
a hand tool with a flat face used for smoothing and finishing the surface of plaster or cement or stucco

Noun
an elaborate display mounted on a platform carried by a truck (or pulled by a truck) in a procession or parade

Noun
a drink with ice cream floating in it

Noun
the number of shares outstanding and available for trading by the public

...

Noun
the time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment

Verb
convert from a fixed point notation to a floating point notation; "float data"

Verb
allow (currencies) to fluctuate; "The government floated the ruble for a few months"

Verb
make the surface of level or smooth; "float the plaster"

Verb
put into the water; "float a ship"

Verb
move lightly, as if suspended; "The dancer floated across the stage"

Verb
set afloat; "He floated the logs down the river"; "The boy floated his toy boat on the pond"

Verb
be in motion due to some air or water current; "The leaves were blowing in the wind"; "the boat drifted on the lake"; "The sailboat was adrift on the open sea"; "the shipwrecked boat drifted away from the shore"

Verb
be afloat; stay on a liquid surface; not sink

Verb
circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with; "The Republicans are floating the idea of a tax reform"


v. i.
Anything which floats or rests on the surface of a fluid, as to sustain weight, or to indicate the height of the surface, or mark the place of, something.

v. i.
A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft.

v. i.
The hollow, metallic ball of a self-acting faucet, which floats upon the water in a cistern or boiler.

v. i.
The cork or quill used in angling, to support the bait line, and indicate the bite of a fish.

v. i.
Anything used to buoy up whatever is liable to sink; an inflated bag or pillow used by persons learning to swim; a life preserver.

v. i.
A float board. See Float board (below).

v. i.
A contrivance for affording a copious stream of water to the heated surface of an object of large bulk, as an anvil or die.

v. i.
The act of flowing; flux; flow.

v. i.
A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep.

v. i.
The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed.

v. i.
A polishing block used in marble working; a runner.

v. i.
A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe.

v. i.
A coal cart.

v. i.
The sea; a wave. See Flote, n.

n.
To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up.

n.
To move quietly or gently on the water, as a raft; to drift along; to move or glide without effort or impulse on the surface of a fluid, or through the air.

v. t.
To cause to float; to cause to rest or move on the surface of a fluid; as, the tide floated the ship into the harbor.

v. t.
To flood; to overflow; to cover with water.

v. t.
To pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet.

v. t.
To support and sustain the credit of, as a commercial scheme or a joint-stock company, so as to enable it to go into, or continue in, operation.


Float

Float , n.[OE. flote ship, boat, fleet, AS. flota ship, fr. fle'a2tan to float; akin to D. vloot fleet, G. floss raft, Icel. floti float, raft, fleet, Sw. flotta. &root; 84. See Fleet, v. i., and cf. Flotilla, Flotsam, Plover.] 1. Anything which floats or rests on the surface of a fluid, as to sustain weight, or to indicate the height of the surface, or mark the place of, something. Specifically: (a) A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft. (b) The hollow, metallic ball of a self-acting faucet, which floats upon the water in a cistern or boiler. (c) The cork or quill used in angling, to support the bait line, and indicate the bite of a fish. (d) Anything used to buoy up whatever is liable to sink; an inflated bag or pillow used by persons learning to swim; a life preserver.
This reform bill . . . had been used as a float by the conservative ministry.
2. A float board. See Float board (below). 3. (Tempering) A contrivance for affording a copious stream of water to the heated surface of an object of large bulk, as an anvil or die. Knight. 4. The act of flowing; flux; flow. [Obs.] Bacon. 5. A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep. [Obs.] Mortimer. 6. (Plastering) The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed. 7. A polishing block used in marble working; a runner. Knight. 8. A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe. 9. A coal cart. [Eng.] Simmonds. 10. The sea; a wave. See Flote, n. Float board, one of the boards fixed radially to the rim of an undershot water wheel or of a steamer's paddle wheel; -- a vane. -- Float case (Naut.), a caisson used for lifting a ship. -- Float copper ∨ gold (Mining), fine particles of metallic copper or of gold suspended in water, and thus liable to be lost. -- Float ore, water-worn particles of ore; fragments of vein material found on the surface, away from the vein outcrop. Raymond. -- Float stone (Arch.), a siliceous stone used to rub stonework or brickwork to a smooth surface. -- Float valve, a valve or cock acted upon by a float. See Float, 1 (b).

Float

Float, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Floated; p. pr. & vb. n. Floating.] [OE. flotien, flotten, AS. flotian to float, swim, fr. fle'a2tan. See Float, n.] 1. To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up.
The ark no more now floats, but seems on ground.
Three blustering nights, borne by the southern blast, I floated.
2. To move quietly or gently on the water, as a raft; to drift along; to move or glide without effort or impulse on the surface of a fluid, or through the air.
They stretch their broad plumes and float upon the wind.
There seems a floating whisper on the hills.

Float

Float, v. t. 1. To cause to float; to cause to rest or move on the surface of a fluid; as, the tide floated the ship into the harbor.
Had floated that bell on the Inchcape rock.
2. To flood; to overflow; to cover with water.
Proud Pactolus floats the fruitful lands.
3. (Plastering) To pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet. 4. To support and sustain the credit of, as a commercial scheme or a joint-stock company, so as to enable it to go into, or continue in, operation.

Anything which floats or rests on the surface of a fluid, as to sustain weight, or to indicate the height of the surface, or mark the place of, something

To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up.

To cause to float; to cause to rest or move on the surface of a fluid; as, the tide floated the ship into the harbor.

...

Usage Examples

I was blessed, because I come from a family where they knock you down before you float away. I have a lot of brothers who just make sure we have our feet on the ground, and my mom is a rock star. She is an amazing mother.

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.

Misspelled Form

float, dfloat, rfloat, tfloat, gfloat, vfloat, cfloat, dloat, rloat, tloat, gloat, vloat, cloat, fdloat, frloat, ftloat, fgloat, fvloat, fcloat, fkloat, foloat, fploat, f:loat, fkoat, fooat, fpoat, f:oat, flkoat, flooat, flpoat, fl:oat, flioat, fl9oat, fl0oat, flpoat, flloat, fliat, fl9at, fl0at, flpat, fllat, floiat, flo9at, flo0at, flopat, flolat, floqat, flowat, flosat, flozat, floqt, flowt, flost, flozt, floaqt, floawt, floast, floazt, floart, floa5t, floa6t, floayt, floagt, floar, floa5, floa6, floay, floag, floatr, float5, float6, floaty, floatg.

Other Usage Examples

Heaven and hell suppose two distinct species of men, the good and the bad. But the greatest part of mankind float betwixt vice and virtue.

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.

Comments


Browse Dictionary