Float - Definition

n 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, 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: float,
plasterer's float]
6: something that floats on the surface of water
7: an air-filled sac near the spinal column in many fishes that
helps maintain buoyancy [syn: air bladder, swim bladder,
float]
v 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: float, drift,
be adrift, blow]
2: be afloat either on or below a liquid surface and not sink to
the bottom [syn: float, swim] [ant: go down, go
under, settle, 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"