I. float 1 /fləʊt $ floʊt/ BrE AmE verb
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: flotian ]
1 . ON WATER
a) [intransitive] to stay or move on the surface of a liquid without sinking:
I wasn’t sure if the raft would float.
She spent the afternoon floating on her back in the pool.
float along/down/past etc
A couple of broken branches floated past us.
b) [transitive] to put something on the surface of a liquid so that it does not sink:
The logs are trimmed and then floated down the river.
2 . IN THE AIR [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if something floats, it moves slowly through the air or stays up in the air:
I looked up at the clouds floating in the sky.
Leaves floated gently down from the trees.
3 . MUSIC/SOUNDS/SMELLS ETC [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if sounds or smells float somewhere, people in another place can hear or smell them:
The sound of her voice came floating down from an upstairs window.
4 . WALK GRACEFULLY [intransitive] to walk in a slow light graceful way SYN glide :
Rachel floated around the bedroom in a lace nightgown.
5 . IDEAS [transitive] to suggest an idea or plan in order to see if people like it:
We first floated the idea back in 1992.
6 . MONEY [transitive] technical if the government of a country floats its money, the value of the money is allowed to change freely in relation to money from other countries:
Russia decided to float the rouble on the foreign exchange market.
7 . COMPANY [transitive] to sell ↑ share s in a company or business to the public for the first time
float something on something
The company will be floated on the stock market next year.
⇨ ↑ flotation (1)
8 . CHEQUE [transitive] American English to write a cheque when you do not have enough money in the bank to pay it
9 . whatever floats your boat informal used to say that someone can do or use whatever they like:
You can add raisins, nuts, chocolate chips – whatever floats your boat.
float around phrasal verb informal
to be present in a place:
There’s a lot of cash floating around in the economy at the moment.
II. float 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . VEHICLE a large vehicle that is decorated to drive through the streets as part of a special event:
We stood and watched the Carnival floats drive past.
2 . DRINK American English a sweet drink that has ice cream floating in it
3 .
FOR FISHING a small light object that floats on the surface of the water, used by people trying to catch fish to show where their line is
4 . FOR SWIMMING a flat light object that you can rest part of your body on in water to help you learn to swim
5 . MONEY a small amount of money that someone in a shop keeps so that they have enough money to give change to people
6 . BUSINESS a time when ↑ share s in a company are made available for people to buy for the first time SYN flotation
7 . RELAXATION a time when you sit in a ↑ flotation tank in order to treat illness or injury, or to relax