Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

float       (flōt)  Pronunciation Key  v.   float·ed, float·ing, floats v.   intr. To remain suspended within or on the surface of a fluid without sinking. 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. To put into the water; launch: float a ship; float a navy. 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. n.   Something that floats, as: A raft. A buoy. A life preserver. A buoyant object, such as a cork, used to hold a net or fishing line afloat. A landing platform attached to a wharf and floating on the water. 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.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

float·ing       (flō'tĭng)  Pronunciation Key  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 Available for use; in circulation. Used of capital. 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.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

floating
adjective
1.	borne up by or suspended in a liquid; "the ship is still floating"; "floating logs"; "floating seaweed"
2.	continually changing especially as from one abode or occupation to another; "a drifting double-dealer"; "the floating population"; "vagrant hippies of the sixties" [syn: aimless]
3.	inclined to move or be moved about; "a floating crap game"
4.	(of a part of the body) not firmly connected; movable or out of normal position; "floating ribs are not connected with the sternum"; "a floating kidney"
5.	not definitely committed to a party or policy; "floating voters"
noun
1.	the act of someone who floats on the water

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

floating float·ing (flō'tĭng)
adj.

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

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
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>

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Floating

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

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

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.