FLOAT

vi a coal cart.

2. float ·vi the sea; a wave. ·see flote, ·noun.

3. float ·vi the act of flowing; flux; flow.

4. float ·vi a float board. ·see float board (below).

5. float ·vi a polishing block used in marble working; a runner.

6. float ·vi a quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep.

7. float ·noun to rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up.

8. float ·vt to pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet.

9. float ·vi the trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed.

10. float ·vt to flood; to overflow; to cover with water.

11. float ·vi the cork or quill used in angling, to support the bait line, and indicate the bite of a fish.

12. float ·vi a single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe.

13. float ·vi a mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft.

14. float ·vi the hollow, metallic ball of a self-acting faucet, which floats upon the water in a cistern or boiler.

15. float ·vt 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.

xvi. float ·vi a contrivance for affording a copious stream of water to the heated surface of an object of large bulk, as an anvil or die.

xvii. float ·vi anything used to buoy up whatever is liable to sink; an inflated bag or pillow used by persons learning to swim; a life preserver.

xviii. float ·vt 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.

xix. float ·vi 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.

xx. float ·noun 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.