'Float' definitions:

Definition of 'float'

(from WordNet)
noun
The time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment
noun
The number of shares outstanding and available for trading by the public
noun
A drink with ice cream floating in it [syn: ice-cream soda, ice-cream float, float]
noun
An elaborate display mounted on a platform carried by a truck (or pulled by a truck) in a procession or parade
noun
A hand tool with a flat face used for smoothing and finishing the surface of plaster or cement or stucco [syn: float, plasterer's float]
noun
Something that floats on the surface of water
noun
An air-filled sac near the spinal column in many fishes that helps maintain buoyancy [syn: air bladder, swim bladder, float]
verb
Be in motion due to some air or water current; "The leaves were blowing in the wind"; "the boat drifted on the lake"; "The sailboat was adrift on the open sea"; "the shipwrecked boat drifted away from the shore" [syn: float, drift, be adrift, blow]
verb
Be afloat either on or below a liquid surface and not sink to the bottom [syn: float, swim] [ant: go down, go under, settle, sink]
verb
Set afloat; "He floated the logs down the river"; "The boy floated his toy boat on the pond"
verb
Circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with; "The Republicans are floating the idea of a tax reform"
verb
Move lightly, as if suspended; "The dancer floated across the stage"
verb
Put into the water; "float a ship"
verb
Make the surface of level or smooth; "float the plaster"
verb
Allow (currencies) to fluctuate; "The government floated the ruble for a few months"
verb
Convert from a fixed point notation to a floating point notation; "float data"

Definition of 'Float'

From: GCIDE
  • Float \Float\ (fl[=o]t), n.[OE. flote ship, boat, fleet, AS. flota ship, fr. fle['o]tan to float; akin to D. vloot fleet, G. floss raft, Icel. floti float, raft, fleet, Sw. flotta. [root] 84. See Fleet, v. i., and cf. Flotilla, Flotsam, Plover.]
  • 1. Anything which floats or rests on the surface of a fluid, as to sustain weight, or to indicate the height of the liquid surface, or mark the place of, something. Specifically: (a) A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft. (b) The hollow, metallic ball of a self-acting faucet, which floats upon the water in a cistern or boiler. (c) The cork or quill used in angling, to support the bait line, and indicate the bite of a fish. (d) Anything used to buoy up whatever is liable to sink; an inflated bag or pillow used by persons learning to swim; a life preserver. (e) The hollow, metallic ball which floats on the fuel in the fuel tank of a vehicle to indicate the level of the fuel surface, and thus the amount of fuel remaining. (f) A hollow elongated tank mounted under the wing of a seaplane which causes the plane to float when resting on the surface of the water. [1913 Webster +PJC]
  • This reform bill . . . had been used as a float by the conservative ministry. --J. P. Peters. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A float board. See Float board (below). [1913 Webster]
  • 3. (Tempering) A contrivance for affording a copious stream of water to the heated surface of an object of large bulk, as an anvil or die. --Knight. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. The act of flowing; flux; flow. [Obs.] --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep. [Obs.] --Mortimer. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. (Plastering) The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. A polishing block used in marble working; a runner. --Knight. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe. [1913 Webster]
  • 9. A coal cart. [Eng.] --Simmonds. [1913 Webster]
  • 10. The sea; a wave. See Flote, n. [1913 Webster]
  • 11. (Banking) The free use of money for a time between occurrence of a transaction (such as depositing a check or a purchase made using a credit card), and the time when funds are withdrawn to cover the transaction; also, the money made available between transactions in that manner. [PJC]
  • 12. a vehicle on which an exhibit or display is mounted, driven or pulled as part of a parade. The float often is based on a large flat platform, and may contain a very elaborate structure with a tableau or people. [PJC]
  • Float board, one of the boards fixed radially to the rim of an undershot water wheel or of a steamer's paddle wheel; -- a vane.
  • Float case (Naut.), a caisson used for lifting a ship.
  • Float copper or Float gold (Mining), fine particles of metallic copper or of gold suspended in water, and thus liable to be lost.
  • Float ore, water-worn particles of ore; fragments of vein material found on the surface, away from the vein outcrop. --Raymond.
  • Float stone (Arch.), a siliceous stone used to rub stonework or brickwork to a smooth surface.
  • Float valve, a valve or cock acted upon by a float. See Float, 1 (b) . [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Float'

From: GCIDE
  • Float \Float\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Floated; p. pr. & vb. n. Floating.] [OE. flotien, flotten, AS. flotian to float, swim, fr. fle['o]tan. See Float, n.]
  • 1. To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up. [1913 Webster]
  • The ark no more now floats, but seems on ground. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • Three blustering nights, borne by the southern blast, I floated. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. 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. [1913 Webster]
  • They stretch their broad plumes and float upon the wind. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
  • There seems a floating whisper on the hills. --Byron. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Float'

From: GCIDE
  • Float \Float\, v. t.
  • 1. 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. [1913 Webster]
  • Had floated that bell on the Inchcape rock. --Southey. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To flood; to overflow; to cover with water. [1913 Webster]
  • Proud Pactolus floats the fruitful lands. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. (Plastering) To pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. 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. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'float'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Float'