GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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Found 3 definitions

1.       
   Float (flōt), n.[OE. flote ship, boat, fleet, AS. flota ship, fr. fleótan to float; akin to D. vloot fleet, G. floss raft, Icel. floti float, raft, fleet, Sw. flotta. √ 84. See Fleet, v. i., and cf. Flotilla, Flotsam, Plover.]
   1. Anything which floats or rests on the surface of a fluid, as to sustain weight, or to indicate the height of the liquid surface, or mark the place of, something. Specifically: (a) A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft. (b) The hollow, metallic ball of a self-acting faucet, which floats upon the water in a cistern or boiler. (c) The cork or quill used in angling, to support the bait line, and indicate the bite of a fish. (d) Anything used to buoy up whatever is liable to sink; an inflated bag or pillow used by persons learning to swim; a life preserver. (e) The hollow, metallic ball which floats on the fuel in the fuel tank of a vehicle to indicate the level of the fuel surface, and thus the amount of fuel remaining. (f) A hollow elongated tank mounted under the wing of a seaplane which causes the plane to float when resting on the surface of the water.
   
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   This reform bill . . . had been used as a float by the conservative ministry. J. P. Peters.
   
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   2. A float board. See Float board (below).
   
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   3. (Tempering) A contrivance for affording a copious stream of water to the heated surface of an object of large bulk, as an anvil or die.  Knight.
   
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   4. The act of flowing; flux; flow. [Obs.]  Bacon.
   
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   5. A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep. [Obs.]  Mortimer.
   
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   6. (Plastering) The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed.
   
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   7. A polishing block used in marble working; a runner.  Knight.
   
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   8. A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe.
   
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   9. A coal cart. [Eng.]  Simmonds.
   
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   10. The sea; a wave. See Flote, n.
   
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   11. (Banking) The free use of money for a time between occurrence of a transaction (such as depositing a check or a purchase made using a credit card), and the time when funds are withdrawn to cover the transaction; also, the money made available between transactions in that manner.
   
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   12. a vehicle on which an exhibit or display is mounted, driven or pulled as part of a parade.  The float often is based on a large flat platform, and may contain a very elaborate structure with a tableau or people.
   
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   Float board, one of the boards fixed radially to the rim of an undershot water wheel or of a steamer's paddle wheel; -- a vane. -- Float case (Naut.), a caisson used for lifting a ship. -- Float copper or Float gold (Mining), fine particles of metallic copper or of gold suspended in water, and thus liable to be lost. -- Float ore, water-worn particles of ore; fragments of vein material found on the surface, away from the vein outcrop. Raymond. -- Float stone (Arch.), a siliceous stone used to rub stonework or brickwork to a smooth surface. -- Float valve, a valve or cock acted upon by a float. See Float, 1 (b).
   
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2.       
   Float, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Floated; p. pr. & vb. n. Floating.] [OE. flotien, flotten, AS. flotian to float, swim, fr. fleótan. See Float, n.]
   1. To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up.
   
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   The ark no more now floats, but seems on ground. Milton.
   
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   Three blustering nights, borne by the southern blast,
   
   I floated. Dryden.
   
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   2. 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.
   
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   They stretch their broad plumes and float upon the wind. Pope.
   
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   There seems a floating whisper on the hills. Byron.
   
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3.       
   Float, v. t.
   1. 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”.
   
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   Had floated that bell on the Inchcape rock. Southey.
   
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   2. To flood; to overflow; to cover with water.
   
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   Proud Pactolus floats the fruitful lands. Dryden.
   
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   3. (Plastering) To pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet.
   
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   4. 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.
   
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