float
Definition of float:
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part of speech: noun
That which floats or rests on the surface of a fluid; as ( a) a body or collection of timber, boards, or planks, fastened together and conveyed down a stream; a raft; a buoy; ( b) the cork or quill used on an angling line, to support it and indicate the bite of a fish; ( c) the small piece of ivory on the surface of the mercury in the basin of a barometer; ( d) the hollow metallic sphere of a self acting faucet which floats in the boiler of a steam- engine, or in a cistern; a quantity of earth, 18 feet square and 1 deep; in plastering, a long rule with a straight edge, by which the work is reduced to a plane surface- an angle float is one made to fit an internal angle; a two- handed float is termed a darby; the float board of a water- wheel; a single- cut file for smoothing.
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part of speech: verb
To rest on the surface of a fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up; to glide without effort or impulse on the surface of a fluid; to move as if supported by a fluid; to move gently and easily through the air.
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part of speech: verb
To swim on the surface; not to sink; to move lightly and irregularly, as through the air; to cover with water.
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part of speech: noun
Anything used to buoy up something else; the cork or quill used on a fishing line.
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part of speech: verb
To cause to float; to cause to rest or be conveyed on the surface of a fluid; as, the tide floated the ship into the harbor; the men are employed in floating timber down the river; to flood; to inundate; to overflow; to cover with water; in plastering, to pass over and level the surface of, as plaster, with a float, frequently dipped in water; to bring prominently before public notice; to raise funds, as by the sale of shares, for carrying on an undertaking; to set a going; as, to float a scheme, a mining or railway company, etc.
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Common misspellings:
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- fload (9.1%)
- floaty (13.6%)
- flaot (31.8%)
- flote (27.3%)
- flot (13.6%)
- floar (4.5%)
Usage examples for float:
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Not so very far, he was assured, while it would be comparatively easy to float the air- ship above the trees, there of no extraordinary growth.
"The Lost City" – Joseph E. Badger, Jr. -
And if I come to a river, and I run across a boat, I'm goin' to take that boat and float a ways.
"Philo Gubb Correspondence-School Detective" – Ellis Parker Butler -
Thank you, Ben, for saying that, replied the captain; but the ship won't float long.
"The Life of a Ship" – R.M. Ballantyne -
These hands may float out over the circle, and may touch the members thereof.
"Genuine Mediumship or The Invisible Powers" – Bhakta Vishita
