I. floor 1 S1 W1 /flɔː $ flɔːr/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: flor ]
1 . IN A BUILDING the flat surface that you stand on inside a building:
a polished wooden floor
a puddle of water on the kitchen floor
a warehouse that has 410,000 square feet of floor space
2 . IN A CAR British English the part of a car that forms its inside floor SYN floorboard American English
3 . LEVEL IN BUILDING one of the levels in a building:
a ground floor flat
on the top/first/tenth etc floor
Our office is on the top floor.
floor of
We are located on the seventh floor of the building.
4 . OCEAN/FOREST/CAVE FLOOR ETC the ground at the bottom of the ocean, the forest etc:
creatures that live on the ocean floor
5 . FOR DANCING an area in a room where people can dance:
There were two or three couples already on the dance floor.
take (to) the floor (=begin dancing)
Everyone took to the floor for the last waltz.
6 . WHERE PEOPLE WORK a large area in a building where a lot of people do their jobs:
He wasn’t keen on the idea of working on the shop floor (=the part of a factory where people make things using machines) .
the busy trading floor (=area where STOCKS and SHARES are bought and sold)
7 . LIMIT an officially agreed limit below which something cannot go ⇨ ceiling :
Manufacturers have tried to put a floor under the price of their products.
8 . the floor
a) the people attending a public meeting:
Are there any questions from the floor?
b) the part of a parliament, public meeting place etc where people sit:
The delegates crowded the floor of the House.
9 . take the floor to begin speaking at an important public meeting:
The chairman then took the floor.
10 . have the floor to be speaking or have the right to speak at an important public meeting:
He stepped aside to allow other speakers to have the floor.
11 . go through the floor if a price, amount etc goes through the floor, it becomes very low OPP go through the roof :
Share prices have gone through the floor.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ clean the floor
Next he had to clean the floor.
▪ wash/mop the floor
The floor needs mopping.
▪ sweep the floor
He grabbed a broom and began sweeping the floor.
▪ wax/polish the floor
I washed and waxed the kitchen floor.
▪ sit/lie/sleep on the floor
Officers found her lying face down on the floor.
▪ fall/drop/sink to the floor
He let his cigarette fall to the floor.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + floor
▪ the bathroom/kitchen/bedroom etc floor
I’ve still got to clean the bathroom floor.
▪ a wooden floor
The hut had a muddy wooden floor.
▪ a marble floor
He strode across the marble floor.
▪ a tiled floor
There were a couple of oriental rugs on the tiled floor.
▪ a carpeted floor
Barbara was sitting on the carpeted floor.
▪ a bare floor (=not covered by anything)
Father Murphy led me to a tiny room with a bare floor and a simple bed.
■ floor + NOUN
▪ floor tiles (=flat square pieces of clay or other material, used to cover floors)
When you buy floor tiles, always get a few extra.
▪ floor polish
The room smelt of floor polish.
▪ a floor covering (=a material, such as carpet, that covers a floor)
A carpet fitter can fit floor coverings quickly and inexpensively.
▪ floor space (=a measure of how big a room or building is, based on the size of the floor)
The shop has 33,000 square feet of floor space.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ floor one of the levels in a building:
She lives in an apartment on the eighteenth floor.
▪ storey British English , story American English used when saying how many levels a building has:
a five-storey car park
|
The school is a single storey building.
▪ the ground floor ( also the first floor American English ) the floor of a building that is at ground level:
There is a shop on the ground floor.
|
The emergency room is on the first floor.
▪ the first floor British English , the second floor American English the floor of a building above the one at ground level:
She lives on the first floor.
▪ deck one of the levels on a ship, bus, or plane:
The Horizon Lounge is on the top deck of the ship.
II. floor 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to surprise or shock someone so much that they do not know what to say or do:
A couple of the questions completely floored me.
2 . to hit someone so hard that they fall down:
He was floored in the first round of the fight.
3 . American English informal to make a car go as fast as possible:
I got into the car and floored it.