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float

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To be supported by a fluid of greater density.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

floht
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈfloʊt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. intransitiveof an object or substance

    To be supported by a fluid of greater density (than the object).

  2. To be supported by a liquid of greater density, such that part (of the object or substance) remains above the surface.

  3. transitive

    To cause something to be suspended in a fluid of greater density.

  4. transitive

    To cause to drift gently through the air, to waft.

  5. Convert from a fixed point notation to a floating point notation

  6. intransitive

    To drift or wander aimlessly.

noun

  1. A buoyant device used to support something in water or another liquid.

  2. A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft.

  3. A floating toy made of foam, used in swimming pools.

  4. A tool similar to a rasp, used in various trades.

  5. british

    A small vehicle used for local deliveries, especially in the term milk float.

  6. A hand tool with a flat face used for smoothing and finishing the surface of plaster or cement or stucco

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (intransitive, of an object or substance) To be supported by a fluid of greater density (than the object).

Used this way, float is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use float

  • “The Republicans are floating the idea of a tax reform.”verb
  • “The government floated the ruble for a few months.”verb
  • “He floated the logs down the river.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

float awayfloat throughtotal float

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • floatingnounInflected form

    The act of someone who floats on the water.

  • floaternounInflected form

    Spots before the eyes caused by opaque cell fragments in the vitreous humor and lens.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • floating docknounCompound term

    Dry dock that can be submerged under a vessel and then raised.

  • floating dry docknounCompound term

    Dry dock that can be submerged under a vessel and then raised.

  • floating fernnounCompound term

    Pantropical aquatic fern.

  • floating minenounCompound term

    An explosive mine designed to destroy ships that bump into it.

  • floating-mossnounCompound term

    Free-floating aquatic ferns.

  • floating-point notationnounCompound term

    A radix numeration system in which the location of the decimal point is indicated by an exponent of the radix.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to be supported by a fluid of greater density (than the object)

swimArchaic

Antonyms

Sense: to be supported by a fluid of greater density (than the object)

settle

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.