float

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
float/fləʊt/

▶verb

• 1 rest or cause to rest on the surface of a liquid without sinking.

  ■ be suspended freely in a liquid or gas.

• 2 move slowly or hover in a liquid or the air.

  ■ move in a casual or leisurely way.

  ■ (in sport) make (the ball) travel lightly and effortlessly through the air.

• 3 put forward (an idea) as a suggestion or test of reactions.

• 4 offer the shares of (a company) for sale on the stock market for the first time.

• 5 (of a currency) fluctuate freely in value.

▶noun

• 1 any hollow or lightweight object or device used to achieve buoyancy in water.

  ■ a small floating object attached to a fishing line to signal the bite of a fish.

  ■ a floating device which forms part of a valve apparatus controlling a flow of water.

• 2 Brit. a small vehicle or cart powered by electricity.

  ■ a platform mounted on a truck and carrying a display in a procession.

• 3 Brit. a sum of money used for change at the beginning of a period of selling in a shop, stall, etc.

• 4 chiefly N. Amer. a soft drink with a scoop of ice cream floating in it.

• 5 a hand tool with a rectangular blade used for smoothing plaster.

– phrases
float someone's boat informal appeal to or excite someone.

– derivatives
floatable adjective.

– origin OE flotian, of Gmc origin and rel. to fleet5.