float meaning and definition

FLOAT noun

Definition of float (noun)

1. the time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment
2. the number of shares outstanding and available for trading by the public
3. a drink with ice cream floating in it
   • synonyms: ice-cream float, ice-cream soda
4. an elaborate display mounted on a platform carried by a truck (or pulled by a truck) in a procession or parade
5. a hand tool with a flat face used for smoothing and finishing the surface of plaster or cement or stucco
   • synonyms: plasterer's float
6. something that floats on the surface of water
7. an air-filled sac near the spinal column in many fishes that helps maintain buoyancy
   • synonyms: air bladder, swim bladder

FLOAT verb

Definition of float (verb)

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"
   • synonyms: be adrift, blow, drift
2. be afloat either on or below a liquid surface and not sink to the bottom
   • synonyms: swim
   • antonym: go down
3. set afloat
   • "He floated the logs down the river"; "The boy floated his toy boat on the pond"
4. circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with
   • "The Republicans are floating the idea of a tax reform"
5. move lightly, as if suspended
   • "The dancer floated across the stage"
6. put into the water
   • "float a ship"
7. make the surface of level or smooth
   • "float the plaster"
8. allow (currencies) to fluctuate
   • "The government floated the ruble for a few months"
9. convert from a fixed point notation to a floating point notation
   • "float data"