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float - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'float' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Float [ n.]
- To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up.
- 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.
2 . Float [ v. i.]
- 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.
- A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft.
- The hollow, metallic ball of a self-acting faucet, which floats upon the water in a cistern or boiler.
- The cork or quill used in angling, to support the bait line, and indicate the bite of a fish.
- Anything used to buoy up whatever is liable to sink; an inflated bag or pillow used by persons learning to swim; a life preserver.
- A float board. See Float board (below).
- A contrivance for affording a copious stream of water to the heated surface of an object of large bulk, as an anvil or die.
- The act of flowing; flux; flow.
- A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep.
- The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed.
- A polishing block used in marble working; a runner.
- A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe.
- A coal cart.
- The sea; a wave. See Flote, n.
3 . Float [ v. t.]
- 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.
- To flood; to overflow; to cover with water.
- To pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet.
- 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.

Meaning of 'float' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . float [ v]
Meaning (1):
- put into the water
Example in sentence:
  • float a ship
Meaning (2):
- convert from a fixed point notation to a floating point notation
Example in sentence:
  • float data
Meaning (3):
- make the surface of level or smooth
Example in sentence:
  • float the plaster
Meaning (4):
- set afloat
Example in sentence:
  • He floated the logs down the river;
  • The boy floated his toy boat on the pond
Meaning (5):
- be in motion due to some air or water current
Example in sentence:
  • the boat drifted on the lake;
  • The leaves were blowing in the wind;
  • The sailboat was adrift on the open sea;
  • the shipwrecked boat drifted away from the shore
Meaning (6):
- move lightly, as if suspended
Example in sentence:
  • The dancer floated across the stage
Meaning (7):
- allow (currencies) to fluctuate
Example in sentence:
  • The government floated the ruble for a few months
Meaning (8):
- circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with
Example in sentence:
  • The Republicans are floating the idea of a tax reform

Nearby Words:

flo floatable floatage floatation floated floater floatiersman floating floatingly floaty

See 'float' also in:

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