floated

8 definitions • 13 examples

past simple and past participle of

to stay on the surface of a liquid and not sink:

An empty bottle will float.

float in You can float very easily in the Dead Sea because it's so salty.

float on Lily pads float on the surface of the pond.

to (cause to) move easily through, or along the surface of a liquid, or to (cause to) move easily through air:

float down We spent a lazy afternoon floating down the river.

float along It feeds by simply floating along the water and scooping up fish.

float out to He tossed the bottle into the waves and watched it float out to sea.

float something on something The children enjoy floating their boats on the pond in the park.

Fluffy white clouds were floating across the sky.

figurative The sound of piano-playing floated out through the open window.

to move smoothly and attractively:

She sort of floats around, like a ballet dancer.

to move or act without purpose:

float around/about Since he lost his job, he's just floated around/about doing nothing.

to suggest a plan or an idea to be considered:

float an idea Laura has floated the idea that we should think about expanding into Europe next year.

to allow the value of a country's money to change according to the value of other countries' money:

Argentina decided to let its currency float freely against the dollar.

to start selling shares in a business or company for the first time