(of an organ or part) displaced from the normal position or abnormally movable
a floating kidney
3.
not definitely attached to one place or policy; uncommitted or unfixed
the floating vote
4. finance
a.
(of capital) not allocated or invested; available for current use
b.
(of debt) short-term and unfunded, usually raised by a government or company to meet current expenses
c.
(of a currency) free to fluctuate against other currencies in accordance with market forces
5. machinery
operating smoothly through being free from external constraints
6.
(of an electronic circuit or device) not connected to a source of voltage
Derived forms
floatingly (ˈfloatingly)
adverb
floating in American English
(ˈfloʊtɪŋ)
adjective
1.
that floats
2.
not fixed; not remaining in one place; moving about
3. Finance
a.
designating an unfunded, short-term debt resulting from current operations and having no specified date for repayment
b.
not permanently invested; available for current expenses
floating capital
4. Mechanics
designating or of parts, as in a suspension, that reduce force or vibration
5. Medicine
displaced from the normal position and moving more freely
a floating kidney
floating in Mechanical Engineering
(floʊtɪŋ)
adjective
(Mechanical engineering: Machinery and components)
A floating part or workpiece operates smoothly without touching other parts.
Floating grippers have minimum contact with the workpiece and are therefore ideal for handlingvery sensitive workpieces.
In a floating axle, the axle shafts do not support any weight.
A floating part or workpiece operates smoothly without touching other parts.
Examples of 'floating' in a sentence
floating
Perhaps he fears it will go down badly with floating voters.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She is one of dozens of floating palaces, all here for the only real superyacht diary fixture of the year.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The floating platform for Catcher will leave Singapore in the spring.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Thirty minutes to inspire and win over any remaining floating voters.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Were we green with envy at these floating palaces?
The Sun (2014)
Think of it as a floating resort hotel.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
So what is a floating voter to do?
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The last thing she would want is the extravagance of a new floating palace.
The Sun (2012)
Elections were decided by the floating voters.
Grenville, J. A. S. The Collins History of the World in the 20th Century (1994)
But it may sway some floating voters.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Workers sleep two or four to a cabin in a former cruise liner and floating hotel moored alongside.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The floating sunbathing platform anchored offshore.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
But has it convinced floating voters?
The Sun (2014)
The company was forced to postpone the installation of a floating platform until next year because it had not finished building it.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The ship is to become a floating hotel in Dubai.
The Sun (2008)
It has now found the pair a floating hotel in Moscow.
The Sun (2008)
For substantially less, you could have your own floating hotel and a different beach each day.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Of course, a handout might sway a few floating voters come election time.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
First, it is probably impossible for a tiny open country to maintain its own freely floating currency.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Others are like floating palaces.
The Sun (2015)
And it is probably true that the UK can adjust to austerity more easily with a floating currency.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
A floating platform was anchored in a corner, and two workmen were busy doing something noisy to the walls.
Ben Nimmo IN FORKBEARD'S WAKE: Coasting Round Scandinavia (2003)
Hiring the floating palace which can sleep up to 32 people reportedly cost them 400,000.
The Sun (2008)
A huge frame will be built under and around the plane before it is slowly lifted from the sea bed and put onto a floating platform.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The shackles of my physical body had faded away and instead I was free and floating above it, surrounded by a bright white light.
The Sun (2010)
Synonyms of 'floating'
buoyant, drifting, buoyed, resting on water
uncommitted, wavering, undecided, indecisive
free, wandering, variable, fluctuating
More Synonyms of floating
All related terms of 'floating'
float
If something or someone is floating in a liquid, they are in the liquid, on or just below the surface, and are being supported by it. You can also float something on a liquid.
paddle
A paddle is a short pole with a wide flat part at one end or at both ends. You hold it in your hands and use it as an oar to move a small boat through water.
floating debt
short-term government borrowing , esp by the issue of three-month Treasury bills
floating dock
a large boxlike structure that can be submerged to allow a vessel to enter it and then floated to raise the vessel out of the water for maintenance or repair
floating rate
A floating rate is an exchange rate for foreign exchange that is set by the trading market .
floating rib
any rib of the lower two pairs of ribs in humans , which are not attached to the breastbone
floating ribs
the eleventh and twelfth pairs of ribs , not attached to the breastbone or to other ribs but only to the vertebrae
floating roof
A floating roof is an internal roof of a fuel storage tank .
floating vote
a body of votes or voters collectively not consistently favouring any single political party
free-floating
Free-floating things or people are able to move freely and are not controlled or directed by anything.
floating assets
cash and operating assets that are convertible into cash within a year
floating charge
an unsecured charge on the assets of an enterprise that allows such assets to be used commercially until the enterprise ceases to operate or the creditor intervenes to demand collateral
floating heart
any perennial aquatic freshwater plant of the genus Nymphoides , esp N. lacunosum , having floating heart-shaped leaves: family Menyanthaceae
floating island
a floating mass of soil held together by vegetation
floating-point
designating or of a system of arithmetic , used esp. in computer science , having its numbers expressed in scientific notation ( Ex .: 0.0003 becomes 3 × 10 -4 )
floating policy
(in marine insurance ) a policy covering loss of or damage to specified goods irrespective of the ship in which they are consigned
floating voter
A floating voter is a person who is not a firm supporter of any political party, and whose vote in an election is difficult to predict .
floating currency
a currency that is free to fluctuate against other currencies in accordance with market forces
floating dry dock
a dock that floats and can be lowered in the water for the entrance of a ship, and then raised for use as a dry dock
floating-rate note
a eurobond , often issued as a negotiable bearer bond , that has a floating rate of interest
floating restaurant
a boat or ship that has been converted for use as a restaurant
free-floating anxiety
chronic anxiety occurring for no identifiable cause
floating currency rate
a system in which the value of a currency fluctuates against other currencies in accordance with market forces
floating decimal (point)
a decimal (point) whose position is not fixed
floating exchange rate
a system in which the value of a currency fluctuates against other currencies in accordance with market forces
float off
to offer (shares in a subsidiary company) for sale on the stock market separately from the main company
floating-point representation
the representation of numbers by two sets of digits ( a, b ), the set a indicating the significant digits, the set b giving the position of the radix point. The number is the product arb , where r is the base of the number system used
float around
A rumour or idea that is floating around is often heard or talked about.
nephroptosis
the medical condition in which the kidney does not remain fixed in its proper location but has abnormal mobility
to be walking on air floating on air
If you say that you are walking on air or floating on air , you mean that you feel extremely happy about something.
be walking on air
to feel very happy or excited because something good has happened to you
floater
a person or thing that floats
swinging voter
a person who does not vote consistently for any single political party
1 (adjective)
Firefighters are unable to use floating booms.
Synonyms
buoyant
a small and buoyant boat
drifting
buoyed
resting on water
2 (adjective)
Definition
(of a voter) not committed to one party
Floating voters appear to have deserted the party.
Synonyms
uncommitted
The allegiance of uncommitted voters will be crucial.
wavering
undecided
She was still undecided as to what career she wanted to pursue.
indecisive
He was criticised as a weak and indecisive leader.
vacillating
He has proved weak, indecisive and vacillating.
sitting on the fence (informal)
unaffiliated
independent
3 (adjective)
Definition
(of a population) moving about
a house I shared with a floating population of others
Synonyms
free
The government will be free to pursue its economic policies.
wandering
a band of wandering musicians
variable
Weather conditions are variable and change from day to day.
fluctuating
unattached
migratory
a migratory farm labourer
movable
unfixed
Additional synonyms
in the sense of indecisive
Definition
unable to make decisions
He was criticised as a weak and indecisive leader.
Synonyms
hesitating,
uncertain,
wavering,
doubtful,
faltering,
tentative,
undecided,
dithering (British),
vacillating,
in two minds (informal),
undetermined,
pussyfooting (informal),
irresolute
in the sense of migratory
a migratory farm labourer
Synonyms
nomadic,
travelling,
wandering,
migrant,
itinerant,
unsettled,
shifting,
roving,
transient,
vagrant,
peripatetic
in the sense of undecided
Definition
not having made up one's mind
She was still undecided as to what career she wanted to pursue.
Synonyms
unsure,
uncertain,
uncommitted,
torn,
doubtful,
dubious,
wavering,
hesitant,
ambivalent,
dithering (British),
in two minds,
irresolute,
swithering (Scottish)
Nearby words of
floating
flirtatious
flit
float
floating
flock
flog
flogging
Related terms of
floating
float
Synonyms of 'floating'
floating
Explore 'floating' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of vacillating
He has proved weak, indecisive and vacillating.
Synonyms
indecisive,
irresolute,
hesitant,
uncertain,
faltering,
wavering,
unresolved,
oscillating,
in two minds (informal),
shillyshallying (informal)
in the sense of variable
Definition
likely to change at any time
Weather conditions are variable and change from day to day.