float

Plural: floats

Noun

• the time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment
• the number of shares outstanding and available for trading by the public
• a drink with ice cream floating in it
• an elaborate display mounted on a platform carried by a truck (or pulled by a truck) in a procession or parade
• a hand tool with a flat face used for smoothing and finishing the surface of plaster or cement or stucco
• something that floats on the surface of water
• an air-filled sac near the spinal column in many fishes that helps maintain buoyancy
• A buoyant device used to support something in water or another liquid.
• A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft.
• A float board.
• A tool similar to a rasp, used in various trades.
• A sort of trowel used for finishing concrete surfaces or smoothing plaster.
• An elaborately decorated trailer or vehicle, intended for display in a parade or pageant.
• A floating toy made of foam, used in swimming pools.
• A small vehicle used for local deliveries, especially in the term milk float.
• Funds committed to be paid but not yet paid.
• An offering of shares in a company (or units in a trust) to members of the public, normally followed by a listing on a stock exchange.
• The total amount of checks/cheques or other drafts written against a bank account but not yet cleared and charged against the account.
• Premiums taken in but not yet paid out.
• A floating-point number, especially one that has lower precision than a double.
• A soft beverage with a scoop of ice cream floating in it.
• A small sum of money put in a cashier's till, or otherwise secured, at the start of business, to enable change to be made.
• A maneuver where a player calls on the flop or turn with a weak hand, with the intention of bluffing after a subsequent community card.
• A weft thread that passes over two or more warp threads (or less commonly, warp over weft).
• A loose strand of yarn that passes behind one or more stitches when knitting with multiple yarns.
• A decorative rod that extends over the body of a basket without being attached for part of its length.
• A car carrier or car transporter truck or truck-and-trailer combination.
• A lowboy trailer.
• The act of flowing; flux; flow.
• A polishing block used in marble working; a runner.
• A coal cart.
• A breakdancing move in which the body is held parallel to the floor while balancing on one or both hands.
• A visual style on a web page that causes the styled elements to float above or beside others.
• The gas-filled sac, bag, or body of a siphonophore; a pneumatophore.
• Any object (element) whose location in composition (page makeup, pagination) does not flow within body text but rather floats outside of it, usually anchored loosely (in buoy metaphor) to spots within it (citations, callouts): a figure (image), table, box, pull quote, ornament, or other floated element.

Verb

Verb Forms: floated, floating, floats

• To rest or remain on the surface of a liquid or in the air.
• be in motion due to some air or water current
• be afloat either on or below a liquid surface and not sink to the bottom
• set afloat
  • "He floated the logs down the river"
  • "The boy floated his toy boat on the pond"
• circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with
  • "The Republicans are floating the idea of a tax reform"
• move lightly, as if suspended
  • "The dancer floated across the stage"
• put into the water
  • "float a ship"
• make the surface of level or smooth
  • "float the plaster"
• allow (currencies) to fluctuate
  • "The government floated the ruble for a few months"
• convert from a fixed point notation to a floating point notation
  • "float data"
• To be supported by a fluid of greater density (than the object).
• To be supported by a fluid of greater density (than the object).
• To be supported by a liquid of greater density, such that part (of the object or substance) remains above the surface.
• To cause something to be suspended in a fluid of greater density.
• To be capable of floating.
• To move in a particular direction with the liquid in which one is floating.
• To drift or wander aimlessly.
• To drift gently through the air.
• To cause to drift gently through the air, to waft.
• To move in a fluid manner.
• To circulate.
• To remain airborne, without touching down, for an excessive length of time during landing, due to excessive airspeed during the landing flare.
• Of an idea or scheme, to be viable.
• To propose (an idea) for consideration.
• To automatically adjust a parameter as related parameters change.
• To not be tied to a reference.
• (of currencies) To have an exchange value determined by the markets, as opposed to by central fiat.
• To not be tied to a reference.
• To allow (the exchange value of a currency) to be determined by the markets.
• To not be tied to a reference.
• To be not connected or referenced to a known reference voltage.
• To extend a short-term loan to.
• To issue or sell shares in a company (or units in a trust) to members of the public, followed by listing on a stock exchange.
• To spread plaster over (a surface), using the tool called a float.
• To use a float (rasp-like tool) upon.
• To transport by float (vehicular trailer).
• To perform a float.
• To cause (an element within a document) to float above or beside others.
• To prepare a till (cash register) for operation, either by putting a float (cash amount) in the cash drawer to provide change for customers making cash payments or (by extension) by recording the time a till starts being used for card payments if it is card-only

Examples

• Attach the float and the weight to the fishing line, above the hook.
• Could you float me $50 until payday?
• He tried to float a risky word, hoping his opponent wouldn’t challenge it.
• Helium balloons float in air, while air-filled balloons don't.
• I don't consider anything other than root-beer with vanilla ice cream to be a "real" float.
• I floated the idea of free ice cream on Fridays, but no one was interested.
• Images from my childhood floated through my mind.
• Increased pressure on Thailand’s currency, the baht, in 1997 led to a crisis that forced the government to float the currency.
• It is time to float this horse's teeth.
• I’d love to just float downstream.
• I’m not sure where they went... they're floating around here somewhere.
• No sir, your current float is not taken into account, when assets are legally garnished.
• Oil floats on vinegar.
• Our bank does a nightly sweep of accounts, to adjust the float so we stay within our reserves limit.
• That boat doesn't float.
• That float covered in roses is very pretty.
• That routine should not have used an int; it should be a float.
• That's a daft idea... it'll never float.
• The balloon floated off into the distance.
• The boat floated on the water.
• The dancer floated gracefully around the stage.
• The government floated the pound in January.
• The oil floated on the vinegar.
• The yen floats against the dollar.
• There's a rumour floating around the office that Jan is pregnant.
• to float a boat
• We make a lot of interest from our nightly float.
• When pouring a new driveway, you can use a two-by-four as a float.
• You can't just close the drawer, log in to the till and start serving customers, telling them you're only taking card payments and that they should gonto another till if they're paying in cash. The till needs to be floated first, so ask the manager on the headset if you can use it and she'll float it and let you know when you can start serving.

Synonyms

air bladder, be adrift, blow, drift, ice-cream float, ice-cream soda, plasterer's float, swim, swim bladder, initial public offering, ride, stream

Antonyms

sink

Anagrams of float