GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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Found one definition 

  1.       

    Float , 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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      +PJC
      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.
      PJC
    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.
      PJC
      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).
      1913 Webster

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