Transcription
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
-
- [floht]
- /floʊt/
- /fləʊt/
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [floht]
- /floʊt/
Definitions of float word
- verb without object float to rest or remain on the surface of a liquid; be buoyant: The hollow ball floated. 1
- verb without object float to move gently on the surface of a liquid; drift along: The canoe floated downstream. 1
- verb without object float to rest or move in a liquid, the air, etc.: a balloon floating on high. 1
- verb without object float to move lightly and gracefully: She floated down the stairs. 1
- verb without object float to move or hover before the eyes or in the mind: Romantic visions floated before his eyes. 1
- verb without object float to pass from one person to another: A nasty rumor about his firm is floating around town. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of float
First appearance:
before 1000 One of the 6% oldest English words
before 1000; Middle English floten, Old English flotian; cognate with Old Norse flota, Middle Dutch vloten; akin to Old English flēotan to fleet2
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Float
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
float popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 98% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
float usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for float
verb float
- swim — to move in water by movements of the limbs, fins, tail, etc.
- hover — to hang fluttering or suspended in the air: The helicopter hovered over the building.
- glide — to move smoothly and continuously along, as if without effort or resistance, as a flying bird, a boat, or a skater.
- hang — to fasten or attach (a thing) so that it is supported only from above or at a point near its own top; suspend.
- ride — to sit on and manage a horse or other animal in motion; be carried on the back of an animal.
noun float
- oak — any tree or shrub belonging to the genus Quercus, of the beech family, bearing the acorn as fruit.
- pontoon — the card game twenty-one.
- lifeboat — a double-ended ship's boat, constructed, mounted, and provisioned so as to be readily able to rescue and maintain persons from a sinking vessel.
- phellem — cork (def 6).
- stopple — a stopper, especially for a bottle.
adjective float
- barmecidal — giving only the illusion of plenty; illusory: a Barmecidal banquet.
- illusory — causing illusion; deceptive; misleading.
- floater — a person or thing that floats.
- blue sky — fanciful; impractical: blue-sky ideas.
Antonyms for float
verb float
- drown — to die under water or other liquid of suffocation.
- sink — to displace part of the volume of a supporting substance or object and become totally or partially submerged or enveloped; fall or descend into or below the surface or to the bottom (often followed by in or into): The battleship sank within two hours. His foot sank in the mud. Her head sinks into the pillows.
- drop — a small quantity of liquid that falls or is produced in a more or less spherical mass; a liquid globule.
- reject — to refuse to have, take, recognize, etc.: to reject the offer of a better job.
Top questions with float
- why does ice float?
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- how to float in water?
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- why does oil float on water?
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- what makes poop float?