float / flōt/ • v. [intr.] 1. rest or move on or near the surface of a liquid without sinking: she relaxed, floating gently in the water. ∎  [tr.] cause (a buoyant object) to rest or move in such a way: trees were felled and floated downstream. ∎  be suspended freely in a liquid or gas: fragments of chipped cartilage floated in the joint.2. move or hover slowly and lightly in a liquid or the air; drift: clouds floated across a brilliant blue sky | fig. through the open window floated the sound of traffic. ∎  (float about/around) (of a rumor, idea, or substance) circulate: the notion was floating around Capitol Hill. ∎  (of a sight or idea) come before the eyes or mind: the advice his father had given him floated into his mind. ∎  [tr.] (in sports) make (the ball) travel lightly and effortlessly through the air: he floated the kick into the net.3. [tr.] put forward (an idea) as a suggestion or test of reactions. ∎  [tr.] offer the shares of (a company) for sale on the stock market for the first time.4. (of a currency) fluctuate freely in value in accordance with supply and demand in the financial markets: a policy of letting the pound float. ∎  [tr.] allow (a currency) to fluctuate in such a way.• n. 1. a thing that is buoyant in water, in particular: ∎  a small object attached to a fishing line to indicate by moving when a fish bites. ∎  a cork or buoy supporting the edge of a fishing net. ∎  a hollow or inflated organ enabling an organism (such as the Portuguese man-of-war) to float in the water. ∎  a hollow structure fixed underneath an aircraft enabling it to take off and land on water. ∎  a device floating on the surface of a liquid that forms part of a valve apparatus controlling flow in and out of the enclosing container, e.g., in a toilet tank or a carburetor.2. a platform mounted on a truck and carrying a display in a parade: a carnival float.3. a hand tool with a rectangular blade used for smoothing plaster or concrete.4. a soft drink with a scoop of ice cream floating in it: root-beer floats.5. (in critical path analysis) the period of time by which the duration of an activity may be extended without affecting the overall time for the process. PHRASES: float someone's boat inf. appeal to or excite someone, esp. sexually: Kevin doesn't exactly float her boat.

float vb. Late OE. flotian = OS. flotōn (MDu. vlōten), ON. flota :- Gmc. *flotōjan, f. *flot-, weak grade of base of FLEET3. Reinforced in ME. by, if not entirely due to, OF. floter (mod. flotter) :- Rom. *flottāre, prob. — Gmc. *flot-, floatation see FLOTATION,
So float sb. OE. flot sea. = ON. flot and OE. flota ship, fleet = ON. floti; various mod. uses are f. the vb.

float An operator or function that converts a number in fixed-point notation into an equivalent floating-point form.

Float

of dancers: a company of female dancers—Lipton, 1970.