float

1. 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. Source: opted

2. v. i. A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft. Source: opted

3. v. i. The hollow, metallic ball of a self-acting faucet, which floats upon the water in a cistern or boiler. Source: opted

4. v. i. The cork or quill used in angling, to support the bait line, and indicate the bite of a fish. Source: opted

5. 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. Source: opted

6. v. i. A float board. See Float board (below). Source: opted

7. 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. Source: opted

8. v. i. The act of flowing; flux; flow. Source: opted

9. v. i. A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep. Source: opted

10. v. i. The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed. Source: opted

11. v. i. A polishing block used in marble working; a runner. Source: opted

12. v. i. A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe. Source: opted

13. v. i. A coal cart. Source: opted

14. v. i. The sea; a wave. See Flote, n. Source: opted

15. n. To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up. Source: opted

16. 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. Source: opted

17. 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. Source: opted

18. v. t. To flood; to overflow; to cover with water. Source: opted

19. v. t. To pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet. Source: opted

20. 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. Source: opted

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