float

English Online Dictionary. What means float‎? What does float mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English floten, from Old English flotian (“to float”), from Proto-West Germanic *flotōn, from Proto-Germanic *flutōną (“to float”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewd-, *plew- (“to float, swim, fly”).

Cognate with Saterland Frisian flotje (“to float”), West Frisian flotsje (“to float”), Dutch vlotten (“to float”), Middle Low German vloten, vlotten (“to float, swim”), German flötzen, flößen (“to float”), Swedish flotta (“to float”), Icelandic fljóta, Old English flēotan (“to float, swim”), Ancient Greek πλέω (pléō), Lithuanian plaukti, Russian пла́вать (plávatʹ). Compare flow, fleet.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fləʊt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /floʊt/
• Rhymes: -əʊt

Verb

float (third-person singular simple present floats, present participle floating, simple past and past participle floated)

1. (intransitive, of an object or substance) To be supported by a fluid of greater density (than the object).
   1. To be supported by a liquid of greater density, such that part (of the object or substance) remains above the surface.

2. (transitive) To cause something to be suspended in a fluid of greater density.

3. (intransitive) To be capable of floating.

4. (intransitive) To move in a particular direction with the liquid in which one is floating.

5. (intransitive) To drift or wander aimlessly.

6. (intransitive) To drift gently through the air.

7. (transitive) To cause to drift gently through the air, to waft.
8. (intransitive) To move in a fluid manner.

9. (intransitive, figurative) To circulate.

10. (intransitive, aviation) To remain airborne, without touching down, for an excessive length of time during landing, due to excessive airspeed during the landing flare.
11. (intransitive, colloquial) (of an idea or scheme) To be viable.

12. (transitive) To propose (an idea) for consideration.

13. (intransitive) To automatically adjust a parameter as related parameters change.
14. (intransitive, finance) (of currencies) To have an exchange value determined by the markets, as opposed to by central fiat.

15. (transitive, finance) To allow (the exchange value of a currency) to be determined by the markets.

16. (transitive, colloquial) To extend a short-term loan to.

17. (transitive, finance) To issue or sell shares in a company (or units in a trust) to members of the public, followed by listing on a stock exchange.
    • 2011, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Yearbook 2011: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security, footnote i, page 269,

      As a result of this reverse acquisition, Hurlingham changed its name to Manroy plc and floated shares on the Alternative Investment Market in London.

18. (transitive) To spread plaster over (a surface), using the tool called a float.
19. (transitive) To use a float (rasp-like tool) upon.

20. (transitive) To transport by float (vehicular trailer).
21. (poker) To perform a float.
23. (computing, publishing, transitive) To cause (an element within a document) to float above or beside others.
24. (transitive, retail) To prepare a till (cash register) for operation, either by putting a float (cash amount) in the cash drawer to provide change for customers making cash payments or (by extension) by recording the time a till starts being used for card payments if it is card-only

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

float (plural floats)

2. A buoyant device used to support something in water or another liquid.
3. A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft.
4. A float board.
5. A tool similar to a rasp, used in various trades.
6. A sort of trowel used for finishing concrete surfaces or smoothing plaster.

8. An elaborately decorated trailer or vehicle, intended for display in a parade or pageant.

9. A floating toy made of foam, used in swimming pools.
10. (British) A small vehicle used for local deliveries, especially in the term milk float.
11. (finance) Funds committed to be paid but not yet paid.

12. (finance, Australia, and other Commonwealth countries?) An offering of shares in a company (or units in a trust) to members of the public, normally followed by a listing on a stock exchange.
13. (banking) The total amount of checks/cheques or other drafts written against a bank account but not yet cleared and charged against the account.

14. (insurance) Premiums taken in but not yet paid out.

15. (programming) A floating-point number, especially one that has lower precision than a double.
16. A soft beverage with a scoop of ice cream floating in it.

17. A small sum of money put in a cashier's till, or otherwise secured, at the start of business, to enable change to be made.
18. (poker) A maneuver where a player calls on the flop or turn with a weak hand, with the intention of bluffing after a subsequent community card.
19. (weaving) A weft thread that passes over two or more warp threads (or less commonly, warp over weft).
20. (knitting) A loose strand of yarn that passes behind one or more stitches when knitting with multiple yarns.
21. (basketry) A decorative rod that extends over the body of a basket without being attached for part of its length.
    • 1991, Rachel Nash Law, ‎Cynthia Wieboldt Taylor, Appalachian White Oak Basketmaking: Handing Down the Basket (page xii)

      Rod Basket with Serpentine Floats

22. (automotive) A car carrier or car transporter truck or truck-and-trailer combination.
23. (transport) A lowboy trailer.
24. (obsolete) The act of flowing; flux; flow.
25. A polishing block used in marble working; a runner.
26. (UK, dated) A coal cart.
27. A breakdancing move in which the body is held parallel to the floor while balancing on one or both hands.
28. (computing) A visual style on a web page that causes the styled elements to float above or beside others.
29. (biology) The gas-filled sac, bag, or body of a siphonophore; a pneumatophore.
31. (publishing, digital typesetting) Any object (element) whose location in composition (page makeup, pagination) does not flow within body text but rather floats outside of it, usually anchored loosely (in buoy metaphor) to spots within it (citations, callouts): a figure (image), table, box, pull quote, ornament, or other floated element.

Synonyms

• (shares offered to the public): initial public offering

Derived terms

Translations

References

Anagrams

• aloft, flota

Faroese

Etymology

See floti (“fleet”)

Noun

float

1. fleet, navy