Float (Verb)
Meaning 1
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".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Examples
- The helium balloon began to float gently through the air after being released from the child's grasp.
- The kite floated high above the trees as the boys on the ground held tightly onto the strings.
- The buoy floated on the surface of the water, guiding the sailors safely through the channel.
- A piece of debris from the shipwreck floated away slowly, carried by the currents of the deep ocean.
- A feather floated lazily down to the ground, twirling and spinning as it was caught by a light breeze.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
Put into the water; "float a ship".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- They were preparing to float a new luxurious cruise liner in order to begin sea trials later that year.
- Using cutting-edge engineering and design, the engineers were able to successfully float the massive cargo vessel in a relatively short period of time.
- Once all safety protocols had been checked, the team gave the final order to float the submarine into the calm ocean waters.
- The project to float the historic ship required months of planning to ensure that every detail was carefully considered and meticulously executed.
- Years of extensive renovations came to fruition as the historic frigate was finally ready to be floated once more for the public to marvel at its beauty.
Related Words
Meaning 3
Make the surface of level or smooth; "float the plaster".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Hypernyms
Meaning 4
Set afloat; "He floated the logs down the river"; "The boy floated his toy boat on the pond".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Examples
- The people watching from the riverbank cheered as he floated the beautiful lanterns across the lake on New Year's Eve.
- She carefully placed the delicate model ship in the bathtub and floated it on the water's surface to test its buoyancy.
- As a child, he would spend hours by the pond floating his favorite handmade sailboats.
- She took a deep breath, let out a happy squeal, and floated her surfboard on top of the biggest wave of the day.
- Children at the birthday party excitedly took turns floating their brand new rubber ducks in the inflatable pool.
Related Words
Meaning 5
Convert from a fixed point notation to a floating point notation; "float data".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- The compiler converted the literal number into a floating point value that could be assigned to the float variable.
- The float data type in many programming languages is used to store decimal numbers.
- We need to cast the integer to a float data type to perform decimal operations.
- The program's main function took a float number as a parameter to calculate its square root.
- After reading the file, it converted the string fields of numerical data to float values.
Hypernyms
Meaning 6
Allow (currencies) to fluctuate; "The government floated the ruble for a few months".
Classification
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting.
Examples
- The government floated the local currency to stimulate trade and investment.
- To combat inflation, the central bank decided to float the national currency on the international market.
- The country floated its currency for a short period to test the response of the global monetary system.
- In an effort to regain economic stability, the authorities floated the national currency for several years.
- After years of a fixed exchange rate, the Asian government floated the local currency to adapt to changing economic conditions.
Meaning 7
Be afloat either on or below a liquid surface and not sink to the bottom.
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Examples
- A small wooden boat will float on the calm surface of the lake.
- The stone skipped across the water then began to float before slowly sinking.
- A life jacket is designed to help keep your head above water when it helps you float.
- The empty oil drum will easily float in the swimming pool.
- The piece of wood floated to the surface of the ocean after spending years underwater.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 8
Circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with; "The Republicans are floating the idea of a tax reform".
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
Hypernyms
Meaning 9
Move lightly, as if suspended; "The dancer floated across the stage".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Examples
- She floated across the room, her long dress trailing behind her.
- The ballerina floated effortlessly across the stage, her movements a blur of beauty.
- A feather floated gently downwards, drifting lazily through the air.
- The figure skater floated across the ice, her blades gliding smoothly over the surface.
- A boat floated silently across the calm lake, its occupants barely disturbing the water.