Float definition

Etymology

, from . Compare Old Norse , Icelandic and Mittle Dutch .

Noun

A buoyant device used to support something in water or another liquid.

Attach the float and the weight to the fishing line, above the hook.
A tool similar to a rasp, used in various trades
A sort of trowel used for finishing concrete surfaces.

When pouring a new driveway, you can use a two-by-four as a float.
An elaborately decorated trailer or vehicle, intended for display in a parade or pageant.

That float covered in roses is very pretty.
A small battery-powered vehicle used for local deliveries, especially in the term milk float.
Funds committed to be paid but not yet paid.

Our bank does a nightly sweep of accounts, to adjust the float so we stay within our reserves limit.
An offering of shares in a company (or units in a trust) to members of the public, normally followed by a listing on a stock exchange.

2006, You don't actually need a broker to buy shares in a float when a company is about to be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. — Australian Securities and Investments Commission financial tips article, Buying shares in a float http://www.fido.asic.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf/print/Buying+shares+in+a+float?opendocument
The total amount of checks/cheques or other drafts written against a bank account but not yet cleared and charged against the account.

No sir, your current float is not taken into account, when assets are legally garnished.
Premiums taken in but not yet paid out.

We make a lot of interest from our nightly float.
Short form of floating-point number.

That routine should not have used an int; it should be a float.
A soft beverage with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream floating in it.

It's true - I don't consider anything other than root-beer with vanilla ice-cream to be a "real" float.
A small sum of money put in a cashier's till at the start of business to enable change to be made.

Verb

Of an object or substance, to be supported by a liquid of greater density than the object so as that part of the object or substance remains above the surface.

The boat floated on the water.

The oil floated on the vinegar.
To be capable of floating.

That boat doesn't float.

Oil floats on vinegar.
To drift gently through the air.

The balloon floated off into the distance.
To drift or wander aimlessly.

I'm not sure where they went... they're floating around here somewhere.

Images from my childhood floated through my mind.
To move in a particular direction with the liquid in which one is floating

I'd love to just float downstream.
To move in a fluid manner.

The dancer floated gracefully around the stage.
To automatically adjust a parameter as related parameters change.
(of currencies) To have an exchange value determined by the markets as opposed to by rule.

The yen floats against the dollar.
(of an idea or scheme) To be viable.

That's a daft idea... it'll never float.
To cause something to be suspended in a liquid of greater density; as, to float a boat.
To propose (an idea) for consideration.

I floated the idea of free ice-cream on Fridays, but no one was interested.
To extend a short-term loan to.

Could you float me $50 until payday?
To allow (the exchange value of a currency) to be determined by the markets.

The government floated the pound in January.

Increased pressure on Thailand's currency, the baht, in 1997 led to a crisis that forced the government to float the currency.
To issue or sell shares in a company (or units in a trust) to members of the public, followed by listing on a stock exchange.

2005, He floated the company on the Milan Stock Exchange last December and sold 29 per cent of its shares, mostly to American investors. — article by Dewi Cooke, The Age newspaper, 21 June 2005 (about Mario Moretti Polegato) http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/shoemaker-strides-for-world-domination/2005/06/20/1119250927926.html?from=moreStories
To use a float (tool).

It is time to float this horse's teeth.

noun

verb

Etymology

Noun

Verb