Float > define

• (v.i.) A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep.
• (n.) To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up.
• (v.t.) To pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet.
• (v.i.) The act of flowing; flux; flow.
• (v.t.) 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.
• (v.i.) The hollow, metallic ball of a self-acting faucet, which floats upon the water in a cistern or boiler.
• (v.i.) A coal cart.
• (v.i.) A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft.
• (v.t.) 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.
• (v.i.) The cork or quill used in angling, to support the bait line, and indicate the bite of a fish.
• (v.i.) Anything used to buoy up whatever is liable to sink; an inflated bag or pillow used by persons learning to swim; a life preserver.
• (v.i.) A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe.
• (n.) 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.
• (v.i.) The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed.
• (v.t.) To flood; to overflow; to cover with water.
• (v.i.) A polishing block used in marble working; a runner.
• (v.i.) Anything which floats or rests on the surface of a fluid, as to sustain weight or to indicate the height of the surface or mark the place of, something.
• (v.i.) A float board. See Float board (below).
• (v.i.) The sea; a wave. See Flote, n.
• (v.i.) A contrivance for affording a copious stream of water to the heated surface of an object of large bulk, as an anvil or die.

noun

• The time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment.
• The number of shares outstanding and available for trading by the public.
• A drink with ice cream floating in it.
  • synonyms: ice-cream soda, ice-cream float
• An elaborate display mounted on a platform carried by a truck (or pulled by a truck) in a procession or parade.
• A hand tool with a flat face used for smoothing and finishing the surface of plaster or cement or stucco.
  • synonyms: plasterer's float
• Something that floats on the surface of water.
• An air-filled sac near the spinal column in many fishes that helps maintain buoyancy.
  • synonyms: air bladder, swim bladder

verb

• Be in motion due to some air or water current.
  • usage: "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"
  • synonyms: drift, be adrift, blow
• Be afloat either on or below a liquid surface and not sink to the bottom.
  • synonyms: swim
• Set afloat.
  • usage: "He floated the logs down the river"; "The boy floated his toy boat on the pond"
• Circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with.
  • usage: "The Republicans are floating the idea of a tax reform"
• Move lightly, as if suspended.
  • usage: "The dancer floated across the stage"
• Put into the water.
  • usage: "float a ship"
• Make the surface of level or smooth.
  • usage: "float the plaster"
• Allow (currencies) to fluctuate.
  • usage: "The government floated the ruble for a few months"
• Convert from a fixed point notation to a floating point notation.
  • usage: "float data"

In investment terms, a' Float' is the number of outstanding shares a corporation has available for trading. If there is a small float, stock prices tend to be volatile, since one large trade could significantly affect the availability-and therefore the price-of these stocks. If there is a large float, stock prices tend to be more stable. In banking, the float is the time that elapses from the time you write a check until it clears your account. The same term also refers to the time lag between your depositing a check in the bank and the day the funds become available for use. For example, if you deposit a check on Monday, and you can withdraw the cash on Friday, the float is four days. When you write a check, the float works to your advantage. When you deposit a check, the float works to the bank's advantage.