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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Float \Float\, verb (used with an object)
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.
Had floated that bell on the Inchcape rock. --Southey.
2. To flood; to overflow; to cover with water.
Proud Pactolus floats the fruitful lands. --Dryden.
3. (Plastering) To pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet.
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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Float \Float\ (fl[=o]t), noun[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}, verb (used without an object), 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.
2. A float board. See {Float board} (below).
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.
4. The act of flowing; flux; flow. [Obs.] --Bacon.
5. A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep. [Obs.] --Mortimer.
6. (Plastering) The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed.
7. A polishing block used in marble working; a runner. --Knight.
8. A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe.
9. A coal cart. [Eng.] --Simmonds.
10. The sea; a wave. See {Flote}, noun
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) .
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Float \Float\, verb (used without an object) [imp. & p. p. {Floated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Floating}.] [OE. flotien, flotten, AS. flotian to float, swim, fr. fle['o]tan. See {Float}, noun]
1. To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up.
The ark no more now floats, but seems on ground. --Milton.
Three blustering nights, borne by the southern blast, I floated. --Dryden.
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.
They stretch their broad plumes and float upon the wind. --Pope.
There seems a floating whisper on the hills. --Byron.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
float
noun
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
verb
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
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