to rest or remain on the surface of a liquid; be buoyant: The hollow ball floated.
2.
to move gently on the surface of a liquid; drift along: The canoe floated downstream.
3.
to rest or move in a liquid, the air, etc.: a balloon floating on high.
4.
to move lightly and gracefully: She floated down the stairs.
5.
to move or hover before the eyes or in the mind: Romantic visions floated before his eyes.
6.
to pass from one person to another: A nasty rumor about his firm is floating around town.
7.
to be free from attachment or involvement.
8.
to move or drift about: to float from place to place.
9.
to vacillate (often fol. by between).
10.
to be launched, as a company, scheme, etc.
11.
(of a currency) to be allowed to fluctuate freely in the foreign-exchange market instead of being exchanged at a fixed rate.
12.
(of an interest rate) to change periodically according to money-market conditions.
13.
Commerce. to be in circulation, as an acceptance; be awaiting maturity.
–verb (used with object)
14.
to cause to float.
15.
to cover with water or other liquid; flood; irrigate.
16.
to launch (a company, scheme, etc.); set going.
17.
to issue on the stock market in order to raise money, as stocks or bonds.
18.
to let (a currency or interest rate) fluctuate in the foreign-exchange or money market.
19.
to make smooth with a float, as the surface of plaster.
20.
Theater. to lay down (a flat), usually by bracing the bottom edge of the frame with the foot and allowing the rest to fall slowly to the floor.
–noun
21.
something that floats, as a raft.
22.
something for buoying up.
23.
an inflated bag to sustain a person in water; life preserver.
24.
(in certain types of tanks, cisterns, etc.) a device, as a hollow ball, that through its buoyancy automatically regulates the level, supply, or outlet of a liquid.
25.
Nautical. a floating platform attached to a wharf, bank, or the like, and used as a landing.
26.
Aeronautics. a hollow, boatlike structure under the wing or fuselage of a seaplane or flying boat, keeping it afloat in water.
27.
Angling. a piece of cork or other material for supporting a baited line in the water and indicating by its movements when a fish bites.
28.
Zoology. an inflated organ that supports an animal in the water.
29.
a vehicle bearing a display, usually an elaborate tableau, in a parade or procession: Each class prepared a float for the football pageant.
30.
a glass of fruit juice or soft drink with one or more scoops of ice cream floating in it: a root-beer float.
31.
(esp. in the northeastern U.S.) a milk shake with one or more scoops of ice cream floating in it.
Banking. uncollected checks and commercial paper in process of transfer from bank to bank.
34.
the total amount of any cost-of-living or other variable adjustments added to an employee's pay or a retiree's benefits: a float of $6 per month on top of Social Security benefits.
35.
an act or instance of floating, as a currency on the foreign-exchange market.
36.
Building Trades.
a.
a flat tool for spreading and smoothing plaster or stucco.
b.
a tool for polishing marble.
37.
a single-cut file of moderate smoothness.
38.
a loose-fitting, sometimes very full dress without a waistline.
39.
(in weaving and knitting) a length of yarn that extends over several rows or stitches without being interworked.
40.
British. a sum of money used by a storekeeper to provide change for the till at the start of a day's business.
41.
British. a small vehicle, usually battery powered, used to make deliveries, as of milk.
42.
a low-bodied dray for transporting heavy goods.
43.
Geology,Mining.
a.
loose fragments of rock, ore, etc., that have been moved from one place to another by the action of wind, water, etc.
b.
ore that has been washed downhill from an orebody and is found lying on the surface of the ground.
O.E. flotian "to float" (class II strong verb; past tense fleat, pp. floten), from P.Gmc. *flutojanan (cf. O.N. flota, M.Du. vloten). The noun meaning "platform on wheels used for displays in parades, etc." is from 1888, probably from earlier sense of "flat-bottomed boat" (1557). Floater "dead body found in water" is 1890, U.S. slang.
the time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment
2.
the number of shares outstanding and available for trading by the public
3.
a drink with ice cream floating in it [syn: ice-cream soda]
4.
an elaborate display mounted on a platform carried by a truck (or pulled by a truck) in a procession or parade
5.
a hand tool with a flat face used for smoothing and finishing the surface of plaster or cement or stucco
6.
something that floats on the surface of water
7.
an air-filled sac near the spinal column in many fishes that helps maintain buoyancy [syn: air bladder]
verb
1.
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"
2.
be afloat either on or below a liquid surface and not sink to the bottom [ant: go down]
3.
set afloat; "He floated the logs down the river"; "The boy floated his toy boat on the pond"
4.
circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with; "The Republicans are floating the idea of a tax reform"
5.
move lightly, as if suspended; "The dancer floated across the stage"
6.
put into the water; "float a ship"
7.
make the surface of level or smooth; "float the plaster"
8.
allow (currencies) to fluctuate; "The government floated the ruble for a few months"
9.
convert from a fixed point notation to a floating point notation; "float data"
floatAudio Help (flōt) Pronunciation Key
An air-filled sac in certain aquatic organisms, such as kelp, that helps maintain buoyancy. Also called air bladder, air vesicle.
Fleet\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fleeted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fleeting.] [OE. fleten, fleoten, to swim, AS. fle['o]tan to swim, float; akin to D. vlieten to flow, OS. fliotan, OHG. fliozzan, G. fliessen, Icel. flj[=o]ta to float, flow, Sw. flyta, D. flyde, L. pluere to rain, Gr. ? to sail, swim, float, Skr. plu to swim, sail. [root]84. Cf. Fleet, n. & a., Float, Pluvial, Flow.]1. To sail; to float. [Obs.] And in frail wood on Adrian Gulf doth fleet. --Spenser. 2. To fly swiftly; to pass over quickly; to hasten; to flit as a light substance. All the unaccomplished works of Nature's hand, . . . Dissolved on earth, fleet hither. --Milton. 3. (Naut.) To slip on the whelps or the barrel of a capstan or windlass; -- said of a cable or hawser.
Fleet\, n. [OE. flete, fleote, AS. fle['o]t ship, fr. fle['o]tan to float, swim. See Fleet, v. i. and cf. Float.] A number of vessels in company, especially war vessels; also, the collective naval force of a country, etc. Fleet captain, the senior aid of the admiral of a fleet, when a captain. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.
Float\ (fl[=o]t), n.[OE. flote ship, boat, fleet, AS. flota ship, fr. fle['o]tan 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. --J. P. Peters. 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. Floatcopper or 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) .
![[P]](http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium_mh.gif){kind=small}
Audio Help [floht] Pronunciation Key 
