/ flɔː(r); NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
OF ROOM
1.
[ C , usually sing. ] the surface of a room that you walk on :
a wooden / concrete / marble, etc. floor
ceramic floor tiles
The body was lying on the kitchen floor.
The alterations should give us extra floor space.
OF VEHICLE
2.
( NAmE also floor·board ) [ C , usually sing. ] the bottom surface of a vehicle :
The floor of the car was covered in cigarette ends.
LEVEL OF BUILDING
3.
[ C ] all the rooms that are on the same level of a building :
Her office is on the second floor .
the Irish guy who lives two floors above
There is a lift to all floors.
Their house is on three floors (= it has three floors) .
—see also ground floor ➡ note at storey
OF THE SEA / FORESTS
4.
[ C , usually sing. ] the ground at the bottom of the sea, a forest, etc. :
the ocean / valley / cave / forest floor
IN PARLIAMENT, etc.
5.
the floor [ sing. ] the part of a building where discussions or debates are held, especially in a parliament; the people who attend a discussion or debate :
Opposition politicians registered their protest on the floor of the House.
We will now take any questions from the floor.
AREA FOR WORK
6.
[ C , usually sing. ] an area in a building that is used for a particular activity :
on the floor of the Stock Exchange (= where trading takes place)
—see also dance floor , factory floor , shop floor
FOR WAGES / PRICES
7.
[ C , usually sing. ] the lowest level allowed for wages or prices :
Prices have gone through the floor (= fallen to a very low level) .
—compare ceiling (2)
•
IDIOMS
- get / be given / have the floor
- hold the floor
- take (to) the floor
- wipe / mop the floor with sb
—more at ground floor
■ verb
[ vn ]
SURPRISE / CONFUSE
1.
to surprise or confuse sb so that they are not sure what to say or do
HIT
2.
[ usually passive ] to make sb fall down by hitting them, especially in a sport
BUILDING / ROOM
3.
[ usually passive ] to provide a building or room with a floor
••
SYNONYMS
floor
ground ♦ land ♦ earth ♦ soil
These are all words for the surface that you walk on.
floor
the surface of a room that you walk on:
She was sitting on the floor watching TV.
ground
(often the ground ) the solid surface of the earth that you walk on:
I found her lying on the ground.
•
The rocket crashed a few seconds after it left the ground .
land
the surface of the earth that is not sea:
It was good to be back on dry land again.
•
They fought both at sea and on land .
earth
(often the earth ) the solid surface of the world that is made of rock, soil, sand, etc.:
You could feel the earth shake as the truck came closer.
ground, land or earth?
Ground is the normal word for the solid surface that you walk on when you are not in a building or vehicle. You can use earth if you want to draw attention to the rock, soil etc. that the ground is made of, but ground can also be used in any of these examples. Land is only used when you want to contrast it with the sea: the land beneath our feet • feel the land shake • sight ground / earth • travel by ground / earth
soil
( literary ) a country; an area of land:
It was the first time I had set foot on American soil.
NOTE
This meaning of soil is almost always used in the phrase on African/British/Indian, etc. soil , meaning 'in Africa/Britain/India, etc.'
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
under the floor / ground / earth
on the floor / ground / earth
bare floor / ground / earth
to drop to / fall to / hit the floor / the ground / (the) earth
to reach the floor / the ground / land
••
BRITISH / AMERICAN
floor
In BrE the floor of a building at street level is the ground floor , the one above it is the first floor and the one below it is the basement , or lower ground floor in a public building.
In NAmE the floor at street level is usually called the first floor, the one above it is the second floor and the one below it is the basement . In public buildings the floor at street level can also be called the ground floor .
· note at storey
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English flōr , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vloer and German Flur .