1Rest or move on or near the surface of a liquid without sinking.

1. 1.1with object and adverbial Cause (a buoyant object) to rest or move on or near the surface of a liquid.
   trees were felled and floated downstream

   Example sentencesExamples

   • This introduces a lot of fine air bubbles into the effluent, floating the algal matter to the surface to be skimmed off.
   • The bow doors would open, allowing the cargo of tanks, armoured cars, bulldozers or lorries to drive off, and the LST would then wait for the flood tide to float it off again.
   • They were concerned that the buoyant forces of the concrete against the bottom forms would float the drains out of position.
   • The metal's surface tension is great enough to permit a steel needle to be floated on its surface.
   • Topping up casks of wine is essential in order to stop the wine turning into vinegar; alternatively, a layer of olive oil can be floated on the surface of the wine.
2. 1.2 Be suspended freely in a liquid or gas.
   fragments of chipped cartilage floated in the joint

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Normally, we'd give you a cast and tell you to come see us in a few weeks, but there appear to be some bone chips floating around.
   • What about the old space centers we have floating about in outer space?
   • The idea is that there are huge derelict spacecraft floating about that are infested with nasty aliens.
   • The character within dies and becomes a frozen corpse floating in space.
   • The crystals float in suspended stasis, with each passing second they start to expand and glow.
   • He floated suspended above the planet in his spacesuit.
   • The cells would break off and could be seen floating in suspension in the tissue culture medium.
   • I felt a thrill of excitement as I floated weightless, suspended over the void.
   • There's a weightless, breathy quality to this music, like floating in space or being suspended in the humid air of a rainforest night.
   • The energetic particles floating in the space around Earth also can damage spacecraft without causing immediate catastrophic failures.

2with adverbial of direction Move or hover slowly and lightly in a liquid or the air; drift.

1. 2.1float about/around (of a rumour, idea, etc.) circulate.
   the notion was floating around Capitol Hill

   Example sentencesExamples

   • There are rumors floating around the internet that you are his concubine.
   • A rumor is floating about that the businessman is getting ready to waste millions again in a futile attempt to become governor, but that's relevant only to the coyotes who will take his money.
   • A couple of hot rumors have been floating about involving Golden State.
   • As a counter to a lot of misinformation floating about, the company offers nine reasons to be skeptical of press reports about medical breakthroughs.
   • We did not need a bunch of rumors floating around concerning what had happened.
   • I believe that political life would be greatly improved if the ideas floating around it were informed by imagination and open minds.
   • ‘It is an idea that is floating about at the moment, but I wouldn't put it any stronger than that,’ he added.
2. 2.2 Move in a casual or leisurely way.
   Araminta floated down the stairs

   Example sentencesExamples

   • I floated down the stairs with the soft fabric of the dress swishing around my legs.
   • His voice drifted off as he floated over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, cabinets, and the pantry.
   • She was floating between bowls of chips, bags of candy that had been ripped open and boxes of colourfully wrapped chocolate bars.
   • When she was finally ready, she walked gracefully down the stairs and floated toward the door.
   • For those few moments all life comes to a standstill as she gently floats past the cloth shop, the vile grocer and the newspaper stand.
   • She threw a pleased smile in my direction and floated up the stairs with him right behind her.
   • An ethereal but efficient waitress floats about the rooms and speaks quietly; she is a perfect match for The Red Tea Box.
   • Slowly I floated along the street; unaware of anyone or anything.
   • She moved her wand toward the stairs, and Ron floated that way.
   • She floated down the stairs of the main hall into a welcoming mass of guests.
   • Kylie Minogue's on-off squeeze, James Gooding, was floating about followed by a chorus of women whispering: ‘I'm not Kylie but I'm up for it if you are.’
3. 2.3with object and adverbial of direction (in sport) make (the ball) travel lightly and effortlessly through the air.
   he floated the kick into the net

   Example sentencesExamples

   • For when Stanley were awarded a corner on eight minutes, following another Prendergast drive, the winger floated the corner to the near post.
   • This time Joe Hurley floated the ball across from the far side and Maurice O Rahilly thundered a header that the keeper, Dan Burke, managed to get a hand to.
   • And Shane Warne, bowling into the strong breeze, broke with his norm and floated the ball up tantalisingly slow.
   • Another strong serve from the Briton takes him to 30-but he floats the ball long for 30-15.
   • The ball was floated the other way, where it caught the underside of the crossbar and dropped over the line.
   • The ball is floated in and Mexico clear their lines courtesy of an overhead kick from Mercado.
   • With half-time approaching, Ovenden were awarded a free kick well outside the penalty area and Megson floated the ball over everyone into the net.
   • For once, the lineout maul was regenerated closer to the posts and O'Gara was able to float his pass towards an overlap near the left touchline.
   • Every time the ball came near me I imagined Nick was floating one of his wonderful passes into my hands.
   • Yorke floats a ball into England's box which Lawrence heads over, though the goal was never in danger.
   • Lee Clark floated the ball into the area, but Marlet could not get any power on his header.
   • He floated the ball over for young substitute Danny Forrest to head back across goal to Simon Parke at the far post.
   • Cosgrave floated the ball across, it bobbled around the six yard box before Sullivan cheekily back heeled it to the bottom corner for his twelfth goal of the season.
   • After a bright start the home side took a third minute lead when Matthew Rhead floated the ball over goalkeeper Mark Thornley and saw his effort drop just under the crossbar.
   • He not only floated the ball out onto the green, but sent his chip closer and closer until the ball unbelievably dropped into the hole.
   • Cougars were trailing 22-16 when Adam Mitchell floated a high ball across to the right wing.
   • The striker floated a great ball into the box which was met by Keith Kelly whose glancing header levelled the game.
   • Robert Foley won possession on the stand side and floated a high ball towards goal.
   • Martin Keating floated a high ball into the square.
   • The ball is floated in to the box and Nesta heads clear.

3with object Put forward (an idea) as a suggestion or test of reactions.

1. 3.1 Offer the shares of (a company) for sale on the stock market for the first time.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • The company was floated on the Nasdaq stock market in November 1997.
   • They're talking of floating the company on the stock market in the next few months.
   • The company was floated on the AIM in June, 2001.
   • The second consequence was that many fortunes were made by university academics when their embryonic companies were floated on the stock market.
   • A central part of the reform process was to privatize many of the nationalized industries through floating the companies on the stock market.
   • Mr Johnson began stalking the restaurant chain in 1990 and eventually floated the company on the London Stock Exchange in 1993.
   • In 1999, the company was floated on the stock exchange and her wealth was briefly estimated at over a billion dollars.
   • The budget airline was floated on the stock market in 1997 and since 1998 some 10 million share options have been awarded to workers.
   • And, if his plans work, he says he would be happy to float his business on the stock market in the future.
   • She is not certain she wants to float the company, but hints at a possible buyout or merger in the future.
   • The option of floating the company on the stock market is unlikely to be used.
   • The internet banking service will be floated on the stock exchange.
   • He can expect to make a killing when the Life Energy Corporation is floated on the Nasdaq in September.
   • He will need to muster all his not inconsiderable sales skills to help float the company at a time when stock markets are in the doldrums.
   • For these two reasons - raising capital and releasing equity in the business - the directors may decide to float their company on the stock market.
   • ‘It is just not possible to float companies of this size, let alone in the IT sector,’ he said.
   • Alternatively, investors can hold on to the warrant until the company is floated or sold.
   • Just over a year ago, few would have dared to float a retail business in Hong Kong.
   • The losses reflected the costs of setting up and floating the website company as well as the cost of internet broadcasting.
   • He regularly spoke of floating the company for a valuation of over €200 million.

   Synonyms

   launch, get going, get off the ground, offer, sell, introduce, establish, set up, institute, promote

4(of a currency) fluctuate freely in value in accordance with supply and demand in the financial markets.

1. 4.1with object Allow (a currency) to float.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • The president will remain under pressure to encourage Beijing to float its currency, currently pegged to the dollar, which experts argue makes imports artificially cheap.
   • It's not even clear if floating China's currency would result in a stronger yuan.
   • And even if China were to float its currency, it likely would do no better than slow the export of jobs to China.
   • Congressional leaders want China to float its currency on the open market to help adjust what they consider artificially low prices for Chinese goods.
   • The chaos since Argentina floated its currency was due not to floating but to the conditions that had been created before the floating began.
   • An initially more painful, but eventually more efficient mechanism for dealing with economic shock and inflation is to float a currency if it is pegged.
   • Uruguay floated its currency late last month following a run on banks and a plunge in foreign reserves.
   • The market should decide the value of currencies, according to this view, and the correct exchange policy was to float the national currency.
   • China abandoned its policy of pegging the yuan to the US dollar, but didn't go all the way to floating it freely.
   • The President has ruled out floating his country's currency.
   • The pressure by the U.S. government for China to float its currency will last only as long as it favors politically influential interests.
   • However, the interim steps do not involve any concrete moves toward floating the yuan on global currency markets.
   • The US has led calls for China to adjust or float its currency, with US industry arguing that the low rate is responsible for job losses.
   • The instability of the rupee and the decision to float the currency highlight the country's underlying economic and political crisis.
   • He denounced the government's decision to float Venezuela's currency, the bolivar, and to cut next year's budget.
   • The White House says the president will again urge the premier to take steps to float China's currency.
   • When the gold standard was abandoned around 1971, currencies had been floated against each other to measure their worth in the global scenario.
   • Since then most countries have floated their currencies, which have no intrinsic commodity value.
   • In an atmosphere of crisis, he rammed through a series of policy coups, including floating the currency and removing interest rate controls.
   • Indeed, if the currency were floated, it might well decline as Chinese convert their domestic currency holdings into dollars.

1A thing that is buoyant in water.

1. 1.1 A small object attached to a fishing line to indicate by moving when a fish bites.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • From time to time one of those floats is bobbing up and down in the water or has been pulled just under the surface and that's when Mr. Catfish is on the line.
   • The next day I decided to fish with the same tackle but set the float shallow.
   • Eventually the many rings were threaded, the float attached, shotted and the hook tied on.
   • One big advantage of fishing above the dam is that it is still water and offers the opportunity to fish with a float.
   • First priority when fishing in this way is to get the right floats for the job.
   • He gave me a rod and showed me how to put the bait on, taught me how to cast the bait in the water and told me to watch the float.
   • I fished next to Milo Colombo, the chap that makes the Milo pole floats.
   • These floats hold plenty of weight but remain sensitive to bites in fast flowing water.
   • Then my float shot under and I was into a fish that was too heavy to be a chub.
   • Further downstream, Alex and George were enjoying similar success trotting their floats down a sumptuous stream.
   • Personally, I get a lot of satisfaction out of making my own floats and catching fish using them.
   • After a couple of minutes the bread was gone, but I'd been engrossed in watching the float so couldn't decide whether the fish ate the bread or it had sunk or washed away.
   • I then noticed that I was getting very shy bites that were barely moving the float.
   • On that day, the three rods with the floats produced most of the fish.
   • Once the hard work is done it's easy to fish to a baited area from the bank or to sit in the boat and fish it with a float.
   • In my opinion the best way to attach the float to the line is with a swivel attached to a short length of power gum.
   • Next week I'll tell you about the new pole floats I have designed.
   • The same pole float was used with a size 14 hook.
   • For general river fishing you may want more deep drawer space for things like swimfeeders and big floats.
   • Pat and I believe that it is the float impacting too deeply that scares fish rather than the splash factor.
2. 1.2 A cork or buoy supporting the edge of a fishing net.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • They use beam and otter trawls or fine filament nylon driftnets, a form of gear used in the open ocean, suspended in the water by floats like a curtain.
   • These weights have a hole or holes bored into them and help, with the aid of buoyant floats, keep the net vertical in the water and fished as a gill or seine net.
   • Through an elaborate maze of nets suspended by floats, fish are channelled into captivity.
   • Fishing floats have always been irresistible bounty for beachcombers.
3. 1.3 A light object held for support by a person learning to swim.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Dean won the race, I hitting third as I had lagged behind when catching the float on the pool edge.
   • Edie gasped for breath, giving in to the shakes, hanging on to the float like it was her whole world.
   • I must say I thoroughly enjoyed learning to swim on my back with one of those squeaky polystyrene float things.
   • Astronauts are dropped into the training pool wearing space suits, then loaded with weights and floats for buoyancy.
   • My aunt now sat up, and the edges of her float came up out of the water as she straddled it to look at me.
4. 1.4 A hollow or inflated organ enabling an organism (such as the Portuguese man-of-war) to float in the water.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • The float has a pore at the bottom that emits gas and can be refilled with secretions produced by a special gland.
   • However, the Ediacaran genus Ovatoscutum looks very similar to the float of the living chondrophorine Velella.
   • I wondered just how many stings I could take, as I anxiously scanned the surface for the float sac of a Portuguese man-of-war.
   • The float of the Portuguese Man of War jellyfish acts as a sail which helps it move or swim in water.
5. 1.5 A hollow structure fixed underneath an aircraft enabling it to take off and land on water.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Also showing new promise, the company put one of its planes on floats - again a nostalgic yet practical match.
   • Accordingly, plans were made to convert the prototype to floats but that plane was destroyed during its flight testing program.
   • He had purchased two Piper Cubs on floats and had also arranged with a local doctor to lease his new Republic Seabee amphibian.
   • It was all clear ahead and the power came up - we squatted down in the water, the spray covered our windows and soon we were off, water draining from the floats.
   • The first flight with floats took place on 8 August and switching from land gear to floats was a relatively simple process.
   • The planes could be equipped with either wheels or floats for both land and water landings, but only by replacing one type of gear with the other.
   • The aircraft for the journey was a Fokker tri-motor fitted with large floats and named Friendship.
   • When fitted with floats, the planes flew maritime reconnaissance patrols and performed their missions in an efficient and reliable manner.
   • Each float was supported by front and rear N-struts attached to the bottom longerons of the fuselage and the front and rear stub-wing spars.
   • The most interesting statistic on the list is the large number of accidents where the pilot attempted to land with the gear down with amphibious floats.
   • At the same time another aircraft with floats fitted landed near the dinghy and picked up the crew and flew off.
   • A couple of months later he made the first flight in it equipped with Edo floats.
   • The aircraft is unique because it is fitted with amphibious floats.
   • After World War Two, private aircraft fitted with floats were a common sight at rivers and lakes across the United States.
   • The bottom of it is built like the hull of a boat and it can float, even without special floats, which can be deployed from the wheel supports.
   • The aircraft could be fitted with either land gear or floats and featured manually folding wings.
   • Wilkins contacted Lockheed about obtaining another aircraft and purchased a Vega that would be fitted with floats.
6. 1.6 A floating device on the surface of a liquid which forms part of a valve apparatus controlling flow in and out of the enclosing container, e.g. in a water cistern or a carburettor.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Contraptions are available that maintain constant water level in the stand, working on the principle of a commode float.
   • When the float rises to a preset limit it shuts off the incoming water, and the flushing cycle is complete and ready for another sequence.
   • A pump in each pond recirculates water through a filter; a float hooked to a water line and spigot automatically adjusts the water level of each.
   • The most common type of bilge pump switch uses a pivoted float to sense water level.
   • Install warning floats in the pump chamber so water use can be stopped if the pump fails.
   • Commercially available structures offer either stacked flashboard risers or floats to adjust this water level.
   • I described the symptoms, and Arv said it could possibly be a blocked exhaust stock or a stuck carburetor float.
   • A sump pump is simply a water pump with an on/off switch activated by a float.
   • Mount the float valve in your reservoir of water at about the level you want the water (the float is adjustable so placement doesn't have to be perfect).

2British A small vehicle or cart, especially one powered by electricity.

1. 2.1 A platform mounted on a truck and carrying a display in a procession.
   a carnival float

   Example sentencesExamples

   • People on the floats tossed candy to the children along the route.
   • Today, the New York City parade is the biggest in the country, with an average of 75 floats and 150,000 participants.
   • Organiser Jane Flood said everyone had helped in making the costumes and decorating the float.
   • The sun also came out as the procession of floats wound its way to the carnival field and then paraded through the town on Saturday.
   • The road parade this Saturday will feature around 25 classic cars and floats.
   • Memories of wartime Britain were evoked for some with a float called The Land Girls and there was a gardening theme for a number of floats.
   • There will be 40 floats in tomorrow's procession, accompanied by marching bands, majorettes and cheerleaders.
   • Spectators were six-deep on the streets with revellers eager to get a good view of the parade of carnival floats.
   • There were many colourful floats, bands and a large number of groups of marchers.
   • The sun smiled down on the bands, dancers, street performers and floats winding their way through streets lined with crowds in buoyant spirits.
   • Crowds soaked up the glorious weather as colourful floats, marionettes, a brass band, classic cars and a fire engine wound their way through the town.
   • Delighted crowds cheered on a spectacular carnival of colourful floats and bands on Saturday.
   • The committee is also organising a float for the Easter Parade through the town.
   • A colourful procession of floats through the town was the beginning of a weekend's fun at Dartford's annual festival.
   • The President will lead a parade of more than 10,000 people and dozens of floats back to the White House.
   • All business outlets are invited to support the parade by entering a float.
   • While some rode on decorated floats, others paraded in flamboyant costumes.
   • The southbound carriage way will be closed to traffic from 8.30 in the morning to enable floats to assemble on the off side lanes.
   • There are many prizes on offer including best float, best commercial float, best band and best original float.
   • I do understand there are water guns on some floats in the parade and retaliation from the spectators can be expected.

3British A sum of money used for change at the beginning of a period of trading in a shop or stall etc., or for minor expenditures.

4A hand tool with a rectangular blade used for smoothing plaster.

5North American A soft drink with a scoop of ice cream floating in it.

6(in critical path analysis) the period of time by which the duration of an activity may be extended without affecting the overall time for the process.