floating definition | Dictionary.com

float⋅ing

[floh-ting]

–adjective

1.	being buoyed up on water or other liquid.

2.	having little or no attachment to a particular place; moving from one place to another: a floating work force.

3.	Pathology. away from its proper position, esp. in a downward direction: a floating kidney.

4.	not fixed or settled in a definite place or state: a floating population.

Finance.

a.	in circulation or use, or not permanently invested, as capital.

b.	composed of sums due within a short time: a floating debt.

Machinery.

a.	having a soft suspension greatly reducing vibrations between the suspended part and its support.

b.	working smoothly.

Origin:
1555–65; float + -ing ²

Related forms:

float⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

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float

[floht]

–verb (used without object)

1.	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.

32.	paddle ¹ (def. 6).

33.	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.

c.	any mineral in suspension in water.

44.	Usually, floats. British Theater. footlights.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME floten, OE flotian; c. ON flota, MD vloten; akin to OE flēotan to fleet ²

Synonyms:
3. hover, waft, drift, suspend.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source

Link To floating

float (flōt)

v. float·ed, float·ing, floats

v. intr.

1. To remain suspended within or on the surface of a fluid without sinking.
2. To be suspended in or move through space as if supported by a liquid.
To move from place to place, especially at random.
To move easily or lightly: "Miss Golightly . . . floated round in their arms light as a scarf" (Truman Capote).
Economics To find a level in relationship to other currencies solely in response to the law of supply and demand: allowed the dollar to float.

v. tr.

To cause to remain suspended without sinking or falling.
1. To put into the water; launch: float a ship; float a navy.
2. To start or establish (a business enterprise, for example).
To flood (land), as for irrigation.
Economics To allow (the exchange value of a currency) to find freely its real level in relationship to other currencies.
To offer for consideration; suggest: floated my idea to the committee.
To release (a security) for sale.
To arrange for (a loan).
To make the surface of (plaster, for example) level or smooth.
Computer Science To convert (data) from fixed-point notation to floating-point notation.

Something that floats, as:
1. A raft.
2. A buoy.
3. A life preserver.
4. A buoyant object, such as a cork, used to hold a net or fishing line afloat.
5. A landing platform attached to a wharf and floating on the water.
6. A floating ball attached to a lever to regulate the water level in a tank.
Biology An air-filled sac or structure that aids in the flotation of an aquatic organism. Also called air bladder, air vesicle.
A decorated exhibit or scene mounted on a mobile platform and pulled or driven in a parade.
A sum of money representing checks that are outstanding.
A tool for smoothing the surface of plaster or cement.
A soft drink with ice cream floating in it. See Regional Note at milk shake.

[Middle English floten, from Old English flotian; see pleu- in Indo-European roots.]
float'a·ble adj.

float·ing (flō'tĭng)

adj.

Buoyed on or suspended in or as if in a fluid.
Not secured in place; unattached.
Inclined to move or be moved about: a floating meeting; floating crap games.
Economics
1. Available for use; in circulation. Used of capital.
2. Short-term and usually unfunded. Used of a debt.
Designed or constructed to operate smoothly and without vibration.
Of or relating to an organ of the body that is movable or out of normal position: a floating kidney.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Floating

Float"ing\, a. 1. Buoyed upon or in a fluid; a, the floating timbers of a wreck; floating motes in the air.

2. Free or lose from the usual attachment; as, the floating ribs in man and some other animals.

3. Not funded; not fixed, invested, or determined; as, floating capital; a floating debt.

Trade was at an end. Floating capital had been withdrawn in great masses from the island. --Macaulay.

Floating anchor (Naut.), a drag or sea anchor; drag sail.

Floating battery (Mil.), a battery erected on rafts or the hulls of ships, chiefly for the defense of a coast or the bombardment of a place.

Floating bridge. (a) A bridge consisting of rafts or timber, with a floor of plank, supported wholly by the water; a bateau bridge. See Bateau. (b) (Mil.) A kind of double bridge, the upper one projecting beyond the lower one, and capable of being moved forward by pulleys; -- used for carrying troops over narrow moats in attacking the outworks of a fort. (c) A kind of ferryboat which is guided and impelled by means of chains which are anchored on each side of a stream, and pass over wheels on the vessel, the wheels being driven by stream power. (d) The landing platform of a ferry dock.

Floating cartilage (Med.), a cartilage which moves freely in the cavity of a joint, and often interferes with the functions of the latter.

Floating dam. (a) An anchored dam. (b) A caisson used as a gate for a dry dock.

Floating derrick, a derrick on a float for river and harbor use, in raising vessels, moving stone for harbor improvements, etc.

Floating dock. (Naut.) See under Dock.

Floating harbor, a breakwater of cages or booms, anchored and fastened together, and used as a protection to ships riding at anchor to leeward. --Knight.

Floating heart (Bot.), a small aquatic plant (Limnanthemum lacunosum) whose heart-shaped leaves float on the water of American ponds.

Floating island, a dish for dessert, consisting of custard with floating masses of whipped cream or white of eggs.

Floating kidney. (Med.) See Wandering kidney, under Wandering.

Floating light, a light shown at the masthead of a vessel moored over sunken rocks, shoals, etc., to warn mariners of danger; a light-ship; also, a light erected on a buoy or floating stage.

Floating liver. (Med.) See Wandering liver, under Wandering.

Floating pier, a landing stage or pier which rises and falls with the tide.

Floating ribs (Anat.), the lower or posterior ribs which are not connected with the others in front; in man they are the last two pairs.

Floating screed (Plastering), a strip of plastering first laid on, to serve as a guide for the thickness of the coat.

Floating threads (Weaving), threads which span several other threads without being interwoven with them, in a woven fabric.

Floating

Float"ing\, n. 1. (Weaving) Floating threads. See Floating threads, above.

2. The second coat of three-coat plastering. --Knight.

Floating

Float"ing\, n. The process of rendering oysters and scallops plump by placing them in fresh or brackish water; -- called also fattening, plumping, and laying out.

Main Entry: float·ing
Function: adjective
1 : not presently committed or invested <floating capital>
2 : short-term and usually not funded <floating debt>
3 : having no fixed value or rate <floating currencies> <floating interest rates>

Main Entry: float·ing
Pronunciation: 'flOt-i[ng]
Function: adjective
: located out of the normal position or abnormally movable floatingkidney>

floating float·ing (flō'tĭng)
adj.

Completely or partially unattached.
Out of the normal position; unduly movable. Used of certain organs such as the kidney.

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