I. ˈflōt, usu -ōd.+V noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: partly from Middle English flote boat, fleet, float, act of floating, from Old English flota ship & Old English flot sea (as in on flote on the sea, afloat); partly from float (II) ; akin to Old High German flōz raft, stream, Middle Low German vlote raft, fleet, Middle Dutch, stream, fleet, Old Norse flot action of flowing, fat, floti raft, fleet; derivatives from the root of Old English flēotan to flow — more at fleet
1.
a. : the act or state of floating
every float of her wide skirt — Christopher Morley
b. : a slight displacement of the axis of a rotating body (as of the armature of a generator)
c. : a floating movement
the slow float of clouds across the sky
especially : an easy loping stride used by distance runners in the intermediate part of a race
2. : something broad and shallow and flat: as
a. obsolete : a brewing vat
b. : floatboard
c. : a floating tray for keeping shellfish (as crabs during shedding) in good condition until ready for marketing
3. obsolete
a. : a flowing or overflowing especially of the tide or a river in flood
b. : something that flows (as the sea or a wave)
4. : something that floats in or rests on the surface of a fluid (as to sustain a weight, mark the location of something submerged, or regulate a flow): as
a.
(1) : a cork or bob used to buoy up the baited end of a fishline and keep it at a desired depth
(2) : one of the cork, glass, or other floating devices attached to the edge of a fishnet to buoy it up
(3) : a floating indicator marking the position of something (as a lobster pot) beneath the surface of a body of water
b. : a flat-bottomed boat : raft
c.
(1) : a platform that floats and is anchored at or near the shore and used especially for landing or the convenience of swimmers
(2) : a support projected from each side of a small boat (as a canoe)
d. : a hollow metallic ball or similar object that floats usually at the end of a lever in a cistern, tank, or boiler and regulates by its elevation or depression the level of the liquid ; also : a similar often horseshoe-shaped device in a carburetor of a gasoline engine
e. : an inflated bag or pillow used to support on a water surface the head or other part of the body (as of a person learning to swim) : life preserver
f. : an air-filled glass bulb used in a burette as an aid in measuring differences in the level of a liquid
g. : an air sac or other light structure containing air or gas serving to buoy up the body of a pelagic animal : pneumatophore 1
h. : a hollow vesicle found in certain algae (as of the genus Fucus ) containing gases (as carbon dioxide) and serving to buoy up the plant
i. : a completely enclosed watertight structure fitted to an airplane to give it buoyancy and stability when in contact with a surface of water
5. : any of several devices used in dressing, finishing, or smoothing surfaces: as
a. : a flat-faced tool for smoothing and finishing a plastic surface (as of unset concrete, plaster, or stucco) that is either rectangular with a handle on the back by which it is hand manipulated or disklike for mechanical rotation
b. : float-cut file
c. : a usually handled block used for polishing dressed stone
d.
(1) : a platform of heavy overlapping planks cleated together that is drawn over soil to compact and smooth its surface, to improve its condition, or to crush clods — called also clod smasher, drag, planker, slicker
(2) : a frame of heavy planks used for leveling land for irrigation
6. : a trench for irrigation
7.
a. : loose fragmentary rock, mineral, or ore detached from an outcrop or vein by natural forces (as weathering or the action of water) and deposited downslope often at a considerable distance from the source
b. or floats plural but singular or plural in construction : finely divided mineral material (as pulverized rock phosphate or flaky ores) that tends to remain in suspension in water
floats is often used as a filler in mixed fertilizer
float gold
asbestos floats
8. : a grant by the government of a fixed quantity of land that is not yet located by survey out of a larger specific tract of land and that will be later located with certainty in accordance with law
9. floats plural : footlights
10.
a. : a portion of filling thread that passes over two or more warp threads or of warp thread that passes over two or more filling threads before interweaving ; also : the passage of such thread
b. : a defective place in a fabric where warp and filling threads are not properly interlaced
c. : a portion of yarn that passes over several needles without interlacing and is usually brought to the front at intervals to make colored patterns in knitting ; also : the passage of such thread
11.
a. chiefly Britain : a low underslung cart or platform on wheels used for drawing heavy loads
b. : a platform on wheels or a vehicle with a platform used as a base for a tableau or other exhibit in a procession ; broadly : the entire unit of base and exhibit
12. : a contrivance for supplying a copious stream of water to the heated surface of an object of large bulk (as an anvil or die) that is undergoing tempering
13. : an amount of money represented at any one time by checks outstanding and in process of collection ; especially : the amount of checks credited in a weekly statement to member banks of a system (as the Federal Reserve) but not yet collected by the crediting bank
14. : a drink consisting of ice cream suspended in a liquid (as root beer)
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English floten, from Old English flotian; akin to Old Norse flota to float; derivatives from the root of Old English flēotan to flow — more at fleet
intransitive verb
1. : to become buoyed up by a fluid: as
a. : to rest on the surface of or partly submerged in a liquid
a needle will float on water
the boat floated away
especially : to rest on one's back in water so that the face remains above the surface — often contrasted with swim
he was a poor swimmer but could float for hours on quiet water
b. : to become waterborne by the action of rising water
the logs will float when the river rises
— often used with off
their boat floated off as the tide came in
c. : to become suspended within the body of a fluid
stars floating in the sky
2.
a. : to move quietly and gently on, through, or as if on or through water or other fluid impelled by some external agent (as currents of the medium or gravity)
the boat floated by
yellow leaves floating down
a flag floating in the breeze
rumors floated about
b. : to move easily and smoothly as if floating in fluid
she floated down the walk
c. of a runner : to run easily and at less than top speed
a distance runner learns to spell himself by floating in the midstretch
d. of a tool or mechanical part : to remain virtually suspended in neutral position between contacts or limits set for motion : be free to move within limits
3.
a. obsolete : to seem to waver : move uncertainly to and fro : waver — often used with between
b. : to be unstable (as in political affiliation or morals) : lack fixity of purpose or determination
c. : to make frequent changes (as of one's abode or occupation)
d. : to drift often aimlessly or heedlessly
4.
a. : to fish with a float
b. archaic : to hunt deer at night from shallow boats
5. : to become connected but adjusted so as not to share in output — used of a storage battery on the line or of an idle grid in an electron tube
6. : to pass over or under two or more threads before interweaving
7. of a defensive end in football : to hang back to prevent the ball carrier from getting around the flank
transitive verb
1. : to cause to float: as
a. : to cause to rest on the surface of a fluid or to be suspended in and buoyed up by fluid
the tide floated the ships
b. : to move or cause to move through the surface of water usually by the action of an external agent (as a current)
the stream floated the logs onto a sandbar
especially : to convey to market by floating usually down a river or stream
the upriver farmers float their produce down on flatboats
c. : to cause to spread out on the surface of a liquid
float the liqueur on the surface of the coffee
they float oil over the swamp to destroy mosquitoes
d. : to support (a building or structure) on a mat or raft foundation when the ground has low supporting value
e. : to arrange (a mechanical part) to operate smoothly by floating or as if by floating in a liquid
f. : to mount (a mechanical part) especially in rubber so that vibration is not transmitted — see floating power
2. : to overflow with or as if with water : flood — used both of natural flooding and that undertaken for military or agricultural purposes
3. : to smooth or dress with a float: as
a. : to finish (as plaster or cement) with a float
b. : to work (land) with a float
c. : to smooth down (the teeth of an old horse) with a float
4.
a. : to obtain popular support or acceptance of (as a scheme or idea)
careful publicity is often required to float a really novel plan
b. : to offer (an issue of stocks or bonds) for sale in order to raise capital (as for beginning or expanding a business) ; also : to establish (as a company or enterprise) by floating securities
hoped to raise enough money to float the company
c. : negotiate
the company hoped to float a loan at lower interest rates
5. : to grind (as a pigment in water) as a refining or levigating process
6. : to solder the ends of (a tin can) — used with up
7.
a. : to pass (a thread) over or under two or more threads before interweaving
b. : to form (a figure in textiles) by floating threads
8.
a. : to connect (a storage battery) as a floating battery
b. : to join (electrical apparatus) at approximately equal potentials so that negligible current flows
9.
a. : to keep in a float (sense 2c)
b. : to bloat (as oysters or scallops) by soaking in water fresher than that in the native habitat in order to give an abnormal appearance of plumpness
10. slang : to cause (a petty offender or vagrant who may become a financial burden) to move out of a community especially by threats of legal action
III. noun
1. : the time between a transaction (as the writing of a check or a purchase on credit) and the actual withdrawal from funds to cover it
2. : the volume of a company's shares available for active trading in the auction market
IV. transitive verb
: to put forth (as a proposal) for acceptance