I. ˈflōd.ə(r), -ōtə- noun
( -s )
1. : something that rests or drifts along on or in a fluid or is free or loose from its usual attachment: as
a. : a fired clay shape floating on molten glass in a tank to hold back scum
b. floaters plural : small particles in suspension in beer
c. : a plant (as a water hyacinth) that grows on the surface of water
d. : drift bottle
e. : a corpse found floating in the water
2. : a person who floats something (as a company or a loan) or who works with a float
a cement floater
3.
a. : a person who votes illegally in various polling places either under false registration or under the name of a properly registered person who has not already voted
b. : a person (as a delegate to a convention or a member of a legislature) who represents an irregular constituency (as made up of the voters of two counties neither of which has sufficient population to entitle it to a separate representative)
4. : a person who floats or drifts: as
a. : a person without fixed abode or regular employment : vagrant , tramp
b. : a person who tends to shift from job to job often within a particular industry for other than economic reasons
floaters increase the expense of handling a retirement system
: boomer
c. : a person without fixed political or religious affiliations or convictions
d. : a worker without regular fixed duties who is available for assignment wherever extra help is needed
larger hospitals usually have a few nurses on the staff who act as floaters or substitutes
5. slang Britain : blunder
6.
a. : a slowly pitched baseball with little or no spin
b. : a soft pass in football that is long and high
7. Britain : a bearer security ; especially : one unlisted but acceptable as collateral
8. : a policy of insurance to protect against loss or damage of goods in transit or goods (as furs or jewels) naturally subject to use in various places — compare inland marine insurance
9. : an order (as by a court or police official) to a person considered an undesirable citizen to leave a town or locality ; usually : a heavy sentence on a petty offender that is suspended on condition that he leave the jurisdiction of the court permanently
II. noun
1. : a bit of optical debris (as a dead cell or a cell fragment) in the vitreous humor or lens that may be perceived as a spot before the eye — usually used in plural; see muscae volitantes in the Dict
2. : a floating security