Float

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Float \Float\ (fl[=o]t), n.[OE. flote ship, boat, fleet, AS.
     flota ship, fr. fle['o]tan to float; akin to D. vloot fleet,
     G. floss raft, Icel. floti float, raft, fleet, Sw. flotta.
     [root] 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
        liquid 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.
        (e) The hollow, metallic ball which floats on the fuel in
            the fuel tank of a vehicle to indicate the level of
            the fuel surface, and thus the amount of fuel
            remaining.
        (f) A hollow elongated tank mounted under the wing of a
            seaplane which causes the plane to float when resting
            on the surface of the water.
            [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
                  This reform bill . . . had been used as a float
                  by the conservative ministry.     --J. P.
                                                    Peters.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A float board. See {Float board} (below).
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. The act of flowing; flux; flow. [Obs.] --Bacon.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot
        deep. [Obs.] --Mortimer.
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     6. (Plastering) The trowel or tool with which the floated
        coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     7. A polishing block used in marble working; a runner.
        --Knight.
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     8. A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers
        for rasping off pegs inside a shoe.
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     9. A coal cart. [Eng.] --Simmonds.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     10. The sea; a wave. See {Flote}, n.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     11. (Banking) The free use of money for a time between
         occurrence of a transaction (such as depositing a check
         or a purchase made using a credit card), and the time
         when funds are withdrawn to cover the transaction; also,
         the money made available between transactions in that
         manner.
         [PJC]
  
     12. a vehicle on which an exhibit or display is mounted,
         driven or pulled as part of a parade. The float often is
         based on a large flat platform, and may contain a very
         elaborate structure with a tableau or people.
         [PJC]
  
     {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 {Float 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) .
             [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Float \Float\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Floated}; p. pr. & vb. n.
     {Floating}.] [OE. flotien, flotten, AS. flotian to float,
     swim, fr. fle['o]tan. See {Float}, n.]
     1. To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed
        up.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The ark no more now floats, but seems on ground.
                                                    --Milton.
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              Three blustering nights, borne by the southern
              blast,
              I floated.                            --Dryden.
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     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              They stretch their broad plumes and float upon the
              wind.                                 --Pope.
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              There seems a floating whisper on the hills.
                                                    --Byron.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Float \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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Had floated that bell on the Inchcape rock.
                                                    --Southey.
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     2. To flood; to overflow; to cover with water.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Proud Pactolus floats the fruitful lands. --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Plastering) To pass over and level the surface of with a
        float while the plastering is kept wet.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  float
       n 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 [syn: {ice-cream soda},
           {ice-cream float}]
       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 [syn:
           {plasterer's float}]
       6: something that remains on the surface of a liquid
       v 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" [syn: {drift},
             {be adrift}, {blow}]
       2: be afloat; stay on a liquid surface; not sink [syn: {swim}]
          [ant: {sink}]
       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"

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  160 Moby Thesaurus words for "float":
     Carling float, arrange, ascend, aspire, balsa, balsa raft, barge,
     bathe, bear up, become airborne, boat, bob, boom, brandish,
     bring off, bring up, broach, bundle, bundle off, buoy, buoy up,
     bus, carry off, cart, christen, claw skyward, coach, consummate,
     cork, dart, deluge, dip, dive, dray, drift, drown, duck, dunk,
     effect, establish, ferry, flap, flaunt, float high, flood,
     flourish, flow on, flutter, fly, fly aloft, foot, found,
     gain altitude, get, get going, get moving, ghost, give a start,
     glide, go in swimming, go in wading, go public, hang, haul,
     hold up, hover, inaugurate, induct, initiate, install, institute,
     introduce, inundate, issue, issue stock, kick off, kite, launch,
     leave the ground, levitate, life buoy, life preserver, life raft,
     lift up, lighter, negotiate, organize, plane, platform,
     plow the deep, poise, pontoon, pour on, pull off, put in motion,
     raft, rain, raise, ride, ride high, ride the sea, ring in, rise,
     run, sail, scud, send, send forth, send off, set afloat,
     set agoing, set going, set in motion, set on foot, set up, shake,
     ship, shoot, skim, skinny-dip, sled, sledge, slip, sluice, soar,
     spire, start, start going, start off, start up, submerge,
     surfboard, sustain, swamp, swim, swing, take off, transact,
     tread water, truck, turn on, undulate, upbear, uphold, uplift,
     upraise, usher in, van, wade, waft, wag, wagon, walk the waters,
     wash, wave, wheelbarrow, whelm, wield, wigwag, zoom