floater

[floh-ter]

noun

1. a person or thing that floats.

2. Informal.,  a person who is continually changing their place of residence, employment, etc.

3. an employee without a fixed job assignment.

   One of our officers works as a floater, filling in when someone is out.

4. U.S. Politics.,  a voter not attached to any party, especially a person whose vote may be purchased.

5. a person who fraudulently votes, usually for pay, in different places in the same election.

6. a speck or string that appears to be drifting across the eye just outside the line of vision, caused by cells or cell fragments in the vitreous humor registering on the retina; musca volitans.

7. Also called floating policy. Insurance.,  a policy that insures movable personal property, covering a loss in any location.

8. Finance.,  any security or note that has a floating rate.

9. Medicine/Medical Slang.,  a corpse found floating in a body of water.

10. Animal Behavior.,  a territorial animal that has been unable to claim a territory and is forced into undefended, marginal areas with limited resources.

11. Australian.,  a meat pie served in a plate of gravy or pea soup.

floater

/ ˈfləʊtə /

noun

1. a person or thing that floats

2. any of a number of dark spots that appear in one's vision as a result of dead cells or fragments in the lens or vitreous humour of the eye

3. 1. a person of no fixed political opinion

   2. a person who votes illegally in more than one district at one election

   3. a voter who can be bribed

4. Also called: floating policy. insurance a policy covering loss or theft of or damage to movable property, such as jewels or furs, regardless of its location

5. informal,  a person who often changes employment, residence, etc; drifter

6. a loose gold- or opal-bearing rock

7. (esp in Adelaide) a meat pie in a plate of pea soup

Word History and Origins

Origin of floater¹

First recorded in 1710–20; float + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The bouncing floaters marked a moment for clean energy — the first onshore wave power project in the country.

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The Times, in an editorial, warned of “an army of floaters and drifters and plain hobos now headed to Southern California from all parts of the United States.”

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Plum had another chance to win it at the buzzer, but her floater rimmed out, sending the game to overtime.

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She went coast-to-coast off the inbound, slashing her way to the rim and hitting a floater.

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Powell’s floater with 6:30 left gave the Clippers a 91-90 lead.

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Related Words

• foreigner 
• immigrant 
• migrant 
• outsider 
• refugee 
• settler 
• stranger 
• visitor