floatable


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia.

float

 (flōt)
v. float·ed, float·ing, floats
v.intr.
1.
a. To remain suspended within or on the surface of a fluid without sinking.
b. To be suspended in or move through space as if supported by a liquid.
2. To move from place to place, especially at random.
3. To move easily or lightly: "Miss Golightly ... floated round in their arms light as a scarf" (Truman Capote).
4. Economics To rise or fall freely in response to the market: allowed the dollar to float; a loan whose interest rate floats with the prime rate.
v.tr.
1. To cause to remain suspended without sinking or falling.
2.
a. To put into the water; launch: float a ship; float a navy.
b. To start or establish (a business enterprise, for example).
3. To flood (land), as for irrigation.
4. Economics To allow (the exchange value of a currency, for example) to rise or fall freely in response to the market: Inflation forced the government to float the currency.
5. To offer for consideration; suggest: floated my idea to the committee.
6. To release (a security) for sale.
7. To arrange for (a loan).
8. To make the surface of (plaster, for example) level or smooth.
9. Computers To convert (data) from fixed-point notation to floating-point notation.
n.
1. Something that floats, as:
a. A raft.
b. A buoy.
c. A life preserver.
d. A buoyant object, such as a piece of cork or a plastic ball, used to hold a net or part of a fishing line afloat.
e. A landing platform attached to a wharf and floating on the water.
f. A floating ball attached to a lever to regulate the water level in a tank.
2. Biology An air-filled sac or structure that aids in the flotation of an aquatic organism. Also called air bladder, air vesicle.
3. A decorated exhibit or scene mounted on a mobile platform and pulled or driven in a parade.
4. The number of shares of a security that are publicly owned and traded.
5.
a. A sum of money representing checks that are outstanding.
b. The time between the issuing or depositing of a check and the debiting of the issuer's account.
c. The time during which a credit card purchase can be repaid without interest.
6.
a. A tool for smoothing the surface of wet plaster or concrete.
b. A file with sharp ridges used for cutting or smoothing wood.
7. A soft drink with ice cream floating in it.
8. Excess time allowed for a task in a project schedule.

[Middle English floten, from Old English flotian; see pleu- in Indo-European roots.]

float′a·ble adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations

floatable

adjschwimmfähig; riverflößbar
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Mentioned in ?
References in periodicals archive ?
"At this point all I could see was a little girl on a little floatable raft, and I was I was thinking, man, this girl must be terrified," he said, CBC (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/northern-bay-sands-rescue-1.4769765) reported.
The low-density polyolefin polymers make the HSF an ultra-clear, floatable film that minimises the impact on PET recycling systems and reduces the weight of a label.
The group refuted the legality of any reclamation project, saying it violates Section 27 of the Water Code of the Philippines, which 'prohibits construction on navigable or floatable waterways,' thus making the PRA and all its reclamation projects illegal.
All Gill sunglasses are floatable, so if you drop them, all is not lost.
There are many great floatable toys that your dog may enjoy retrieving, such as the Kong Company's Wubba toy.
It was an occasion for us to use any floatable material like a banana stem to move about in the flood water.
'The entire 5-door townhouse has typhoon-adaptive elements (raised house design, insulated walls), but only the model unit at the center has the floatable carport and detachable balcony raft,' Aguilar told Inquirer Property.