float
[verb]
Synonyms:
- be buoyant, hang, hover
- glide, bob, drift, move gently, sail, slide, slip along
- launch, get going, promote, set up

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Related Words: drift, waft

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. float¹ /fləʊt $ floʊt/ verb
[Language: Old English; Origin: flotian]

1. ON WATER
a) [intransitive] to stay or move on the surface of a liquid without sinking:
I wasn’t sure if the raft would float.
She spent the afternoon floating on her back in the pool.
float along/down/past etc
A couple of broken branches floated past us.
b) [transitive] to put something on the surface of a liquid so that it does not sink:
The logs are trimmed and then floated down the river.

2. IN THE AIR [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if something floats, it moves slowly through the air or stays up in the air:
I looked up at the clouds floating in the sky.
Leaves floated gently down from the trees.

3. MUSIC/SOUNDS/SMELLS ETC [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if sounds or smells float somewhere, people in another place can hear or smell them:
The sound of her voice came floating down from an upstairs window.

4. WALK GRACEFULLY [intransitive] to walk in a slow light graceful way Synonym : glide:
Rachel floated around the bedroom in a lace nightgown.

5. IDEAS [transitive] to suggest an idea or plan in order to see if people like it:
We first floated the idea back in 1992.

6. MONEY [transitive] technical if the government of a country floats its money, the value of the money is allowed to change freely in relation to money from other countries:
Russia decided to float the rouble on the foreign exchange market.

7. COMPANY [transitive] to sell shares in a company or business to the public for the first time
float something on something
The company will be floated on the stock market next year. ⇒ flotation(1)

8. CHEQUE [transitive] American English to write a cheque when you do not have enough money in the bank to pay it

9. whatever floats your boat informal used to say that someone can do or use whatever they like:
You can add raisins, nuts, chocolate chips – whatever floats your boat.
float around phrasal verb informal
to be present in a place:
There’s a lot of cash floating around in the economy at the moment.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. float² noun [countable]

1. VEHICLE a large vehicle that is decorated to drive through the streets as part of a special event:
We stood and watched the Carnival floats drive past.

2. DRINK American English a sweet drink that has ice cream floating in it

3.
FOR FISHING a small light object that floats on the surface of the water, used by people trying to catch fish to show where their line is

4. FOR SWIMMING a flat light object that you can rest part of your body on in water to help you learn to swim

5. MONEY a small amount of money that someone in a shop keeps so that they have enough money to give change to people

6. BUSINESS a time when shares in a company are made available for people to buy for the first time Synonym : flotation

7. RELAXATION a time when you sit in a flotation tank in order to treat illness or injury, or to relax

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

float
verb
I. on water/in air
ADV. gently | downstream, downwards | upwards In the dream my feet leave the ground and I start to float upwards.
about, around, away, off
VERB + FLOAT seem to Her voice seemed to float on the water as gently as a slight mist.
PREP. across A few small clouds floated across the sky.
down chunks of ice floating down the river
in pieces of wood floating in the water
on A few leaves floated on the surface of the water.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

float
II. currency
ADV. freely The government decided to allow the peso to float freely.
VERB + FLOAT allow sth to

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲