noun 1. a piece of a substance such as cork, attached to a fishing line, which floats on the surface of the water, allowing the line and hook to hang down below ○ If the float bobs up and down in the water it means you have caught a fish. 2. a decorated truck in a long line of trucks, e.g. as part of a festival ○ The long line of carnival floats went down the high street. ■ verb 1. to lie or put on the top of a liquid ○ Dead fish were floating in the river. ○ He floated a paper boat on the lake. 2. to stay in the air without any effort ○ little white clouds floating in the sky 3. to start selling shares in a new company ○ The company is to be floated on the stock exchange next week. 4. to let a currency find its own exchange rate on the international markets, and not fix it at a certain amount ○ The government decided that the best course would be to let the pound float.
float
(flot), n.[OE. flote ship, boat, fleet, AS. flota ship, fr. fleótan to float; akin to D. vloot fleet, G. floss raft, Icel. floti float, raft, fleet, Sw. flotta. rad. 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 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. “This reform bill … had been used as a float by the conservative ministry.” J. P. Peters.
2. A float board. See Float board (below).
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.
4. The act of flowing; flux; flow. [Obs.] Bacon.
5. A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep. [Obs.] Mortimer.
6. (Plastering) The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed.
7. A polishing block used in marble working; a runner. Knight.
8. A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe.
9. A coal cart. [Eng.] Simmonds.
10. The sea; a wave. See Flote, n. 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 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).
1. Anything which floats or rests on the surface of a fluid, as to sustain weight, or to indicate the height of the 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. “This reform bill … had been used as a float by the conservative ministry.” J. P. Peters.
2. A float board. See Float board (below).
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.
4. The act of flowing; flux; flow. [Obs.] Bacon.
5. A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep. [Obs.] Mortimer.
6. (Plastering) The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed.
7. A polishing block used in marble working; a runner. Knight.
8. A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe.
9. A coal cart. [Eng.] Simmonds.
10. The sea; a wave. See Flote, n. 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 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).
float
v. i. [imp. & p. p. Floated; p. pr. & vb. n. Floating.] [OE. flotien, flotten, AS. flotian to float, swim, fr. fleótan. See Float, n.]
1. To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up. “The ark no more now floats, but seems on ground.” Milton. “Three blustering nights, borne by the southern blast,
I floated.” Dryden.
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. “They stretch their broad plumes and float upon the wind.” Pope. “There seems a floating whisper on the hills.” Byron.
1. To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up. “The ark no more now floats, but seems on ground.” Milton. “Three blustering nights, borne by the southern blast,
I floated.” Dryden.
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. “They stretch their broad plumes and float upon the wind.” Pope. “There seems a floating whisper on the hills.” Byron.
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. “Had floated that bell on the Inchcape rock.” Southey.
2. To flood; to overflow; to cover with water. “Proud Pactolus floats the fruitful lands.” Dryden.
3. (Plastering) To pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet.
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.
2. To flood; to overflow; to cover with water. “Proud Pactolus floats the fruitful lands.” Dryden.
3. (Plastering) To pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet.
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.
Meaning of “float” in English language – noun 1. a piece of a substance such as c...
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