• Float

    Pronunciation

    • RP IPA: /fləʊt/
    • US IPA: /floÊŠt/
    • Rhymes: -əʊt

    Origin

    From Middle English floten, from Old English flotian ("to float"), from Proto-Germanic *flutōną ("to float"), from Proto-Indo-European *plewd-, *plew- ("to float, swim, fly"). Cognate with Middle Low German vloten, vlotten ("to float, swim"), Middle Dutch vloten, Old Norse flota, Icelandic fljóta, Old English flēotan ("to float, swim"), Ancient Greek πλέω, Lithuanian plaukti, Russian плавать.

    Full definition of float

    Noun

    float

    (plural floats)
    1. A buoyant device used to support something in water or another liquid.Attach the float and the weight to the fishing line, above the hook.
    2. A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft.
    3. A float board.
    4. A tool similar to a rasp, used in various trades.
    5. A sort of trowel used for finishing concrete surfaces or smoothing plaster.When pouring a new driveway, you can use a two-by-four as a float.
    6. An elaborately decorated trailer or vehicle, intended for display in a parade or pageant.That float covered in roses is very pretty.
    7. (British) A small vehicle used for local deliveries, especially in the term milk float.
      • 1913, D. H. Lawrence, ,As soon as the skies brightened and plum-blossom was out, Paul drove off in the milkman's heavy float up to Willey Farm.
    8. (finance) Funds committed to be paid but not yet paid.Our bank does a nightly sweep of accounts, to adjust the float so we stay within our reserves limit.
    9. (finance, Australia, and other Commonwealth countries?) 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.2006, You don't actually need a broker to buy shares in a float when a company is about to be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. — Australian Securities and Investments Commission financial tips article, Buying shares in a float http://www.fido.asic.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf/print/Buying+shares+in+a+float?opendocument
    10. (banking) The total amount of checks/cheques or other drafts written against a bank account but not yet cleared and charged against the account.No sir, your current float is not taken into account, when assets are legally garnished.
    11. (insurance) Premiums taken in but not yet paid out.We make a lot of interest from our nightly float.
    12. (programming) A floating-point number.That routine should not have used an int; it should be a float.
    13. A soft beverage with a scoop of ice-cream floating in it.It's true - I don't consider anything other than root-beer with vanilla ice-cream to be a "real" float.
    14. A small sum of money put in a cashier's till at the start of business to enable change to be made.
    15. (poker) 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.
    16. (knitting) One of the loose ends of yarn on an unfinished work.
    17. (automotive) a car carrier or car transporter truck or truck-and-trailer combination
    18. (transport) a lowboy trailer
    19. (tempering) A device sending a copious stream of water to the heated surface of a bulky object, such as an anvil or die.
    20. (obsolete) The act of flowing; flux; flow.
    21. A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep.
    22. A polishing block used in marble working; a runner.
    23. (UK, dated) A coal cart.

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Verb

    1. (intransitive) Of an object or substance, to be supported by a liquid of greater density than the object so as that part of the object or substance remains above the surface.The boat floated on the water.The oil floated on the vinegar.
    2. (transitive) To cause something to be suspended in a liquid of greater density; as, to float a boat.
    3. (intransitive) To be capable of floating.That boat doesn’t float.Oil floats on vinegar.
    4. (intransitive) To move in a particular direction with the liquid in which one is floatingI’d love to just float downstream.
    5. (intransitive) To drift or wander aimlessly.I’m not sure where they went... they’re floating around here somewhere.Images from my childhood floated through my mind.
    6. (intransitive) To drift gently through the air.The balloon floated off into the distance.
    7. (intransitive) To move in a fluid manner.The dancer floated gracefully around the stage.
    8. (intransitive, colloquial) (of an idea or scheme) To be viable.That’s a daft idea... it’ll never float.
    9. (transitive) To propose (an idea) for consideration.I floated the idea of free ice-cream on Fridays, but no one was interested.
    10. (intransitive) To automatically adjust a parameter as related parameters change.
    11. (intransitive, finance) (of currencies) To have an exchange value determined by the markets as opposed to by rule.The yen floats against the dollar.
    12. (transitive, finance) To allow (the exchange value of a currency) to be determined by the markets.The government floated the pound in January.Increased pressure on Thailand’s currency, the baht, in 1997 led to a crisis that forced the government to float the currency.
    13. (transitive, colloquial) To extend a short-term loan to.Could you float me $50 until payday?
    14. (transitive, finance) 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.
    15. (transitive) To use a float (tool).It is time to float this horse's teeth.
    16. (poker) To perform a float.

    Derived terms

    Anagrams

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