Definitions of float [ʊt]

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Definition of 'float'

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

1. (v.i.) float
to rest or remain on the surface of a liquid; be buoyant.

2.  float
to move gently on the surface of a liquid; drift along:
The canoe floated downstream.

3.  float
to rest or move in a liquid, the air, etc.:
a balloon floating on high.

4.  float
to move lightly and gracefully:
She floated down the stairs.

5.  float
to move or hover before the eyes or in the mind.

6.  float
to pass from one person to another.

7.  float
to be free from attachment or involvement.

8.  float
to move or drift about, esp. freely or aimlessly.

9.  float
(of a currency) to be allowed to fluctuate freely in the foreign-exchange market instead of being exchanged at a fixed rate.

10. (v.t.) float
to cause to float.

11.  float
to cover with water or other liquid; flood; irrigate.

12.  float
to launch (a company, scheme, etc.); set going.

13.  float
to issue (stocks, bonds, etc.) on the stock market in order to raise money.

14.  float
to let (a currency) fluctuate in the foreign-exchange market.

15.  float
to present for consideration, as an idea.

16.  float
to make smooth with a float, as the surface of plaster.

17. (n.) float
something that floats, as a raft.

18.  float
something for buoying up.

19.  float
an inflated bag to sustain a person in water; life preserver.

20.  float
(in a tank, cistern, etc.) a device, as a hollow ball, that through its buoyancy automatically regulates the level, supply, or outlet of a liquid.

21.  float
a floating platform attached to a wharf, bank, etc., and used as a landing.

22.  float
a hollow, boatlike structure under the wing or fuselage of a seaplane or flying boat that keeps it afloat in water.

23.  float
a piece of cork or other material supporting a baited fishing line in the water.

24.  float
an inflated organ that supports an animal in the water.

25.  float
a vehicle bearing a display, usu. an elaborate tableau, in a parade or procession.

26.  float
a drink with ice cream floating in it.

27.  float
uncollected checks and commercial paper in process of transfer from bank to bank.

28.  float
a sum of money added to a salary, pension, etc., as to cover expenses.

29.  float
an act or instance of floating.

30.  float
a flat tool for spreading and smoothing plaster or stucco.

Etymology: (bef. 1000; ME floten, OE flotian; c. ON flota; akin to OE flēotan to fleet²)

Definition of 'float'

Princeton's WordNet

1. (noun) float
the time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment

2. (noun) float
the number of shares outstanding and available for trading by the public

3. (noun) ice-cream soda, ice-cream float, float
a drink with ice cream floating in it

4. (noun) float
an elaborate display mounted on a platform carried by a truck (or pulled by a truck) in a procession or parade

5. (noun) float, plasterer's float
a hand tool with a flat face used for smoothing and finishing the surface of plaster or cement or stucco

6. (noun) float
something that floats on the surface of water

7. (verb) air bladder, swim bladder, float
an air-filled sac near the spinal column in many fishes that helps maintain buoyancy

8. (verb) float, drift, be adrift, blow
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"

9. (verb) float, swim
be afloat either on or below a liquid surface and not sink to the bottom

10. (verb) float
set afloat
"He floated the logs down the river"; "The boy floated his toy boat on the pond"

11. (verb) float
circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with
"The Republicans are floating the idea of a tax reform"

12. (verb) float
move lightly, as if suspended
"The dancer floated across the stage"

13. (verb) float
put into the water
"float a ship"

14. (verb) float
make the surface of level or smooth
"float the plaster"

15. (verb) float
allow (currencies) to fluctuate
"The government floated the ruble for a few months"

16. (verb) float
convert from a fixed point notation to a floating point notation
"float data"

Definition of 'float'

Kernerman English Learner’s Dictionary

1. (verb) float
to remain or make sth remain on the surface of water
sailboats floating on the pond; children floating sticks in the stream

2. float
to move through the air slowly
leaves floating down from the trees

3. float
to sell a company's shares to the public for the first time
We have decided to float the company.

Definition of 'float'

Webster Dictionary

1. (noun) float
to rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up

2. (noun) float
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

3. (verb) float
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

4. (verb) float
a mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft

5. (verb) float
the hollow, metallic ball of a self-acting faucet, which floats upon the water in a cistern or boiler

6. (verb) float
the cork or quill used in angling, to support the bait line, and indicate the bite of a fish

7. (verb) float
anything used to buoy up whatever is liable to sink; an inflated bag or pillow used by persons learning to swim; a life preserver

8. (verb) float
a float board. See Float board (below)

9. (verb) float
a contrivance for affording a copious stream of water to the heated surface of an object of large bulk, as an anvil or die

10. (verb) float
the act of flowing; flux; flow

11. (verb) float
a quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep

12. (verb) float
the trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed

13. (verb) float
a polishing block used in marble working; a runner

14. (verb) float
a single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe

15. (verb) float
a coal cart

16. (verb) float
the sea; a wave. See Flote, n

17. (verb) float
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

18. (verb) float
to flood; to overflow; to cover with water

19. (verb) float
to pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet

20. (verb) float
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

Translation of 'float'

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary

Sense: to (make something) stay on the surface of a liquid A piece of wood was floating in the stream.
Afrikaans: drywe	Arabic: يَطوف، يَعوم	Bulgarian: плавам
Brazilian: flutuar	Czech: plout	German: treiben
Danish: flyde; drive	Greek: (επι)πλέω	Spanish: flotar
Estonian: hõljuma, ujutama	Farsi: شناور کردن	Finnish: kellua
French: flotter	Hebrew: לַצוּף	Hindi: बहना, तैरना, राय देना
Croatian: plutati	Hungarian: úszik, lebeg	Indonesian: mengapung
Icelandic: fljóta	Italian: galleggiare	Japanese: 浮く
Korean: (액체면에) 뜨다	Lithuanian: plūduriuoti, plukdyti	Latvian: peldēt (pa virsu); slīdēt
Malay: mengapung	Dutch: drijven	Norwegian: flyte, drive
Polish: unosić się, pływać	Persian: شناور کردن	Pashto: هر هغه شى چه داو بو پر سر
Portuguese: flutuar	Romanian: a pluti	Russian: плавать (по поверхности)
Slovak: plávať	Slovenian: plavati	Serbian: plutati
Swedish: flyta	Thai: ลอย	Turkish: yüzmek
Taiwanese: 漂浮	Ukrainian: триматися на поверхні	Urdu: مائع پر تیرنا
Vietnamese: lơ lửng; lềnh bềnh; nổi	Chinese: 漂浮
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