floating

[floh-ting]

adjective

1. being buoyed up on water or other liquid.

2. having little or no attachment to a particular place; moving from one place to another.

   a floating workforce.

3. Pathology.,  away from its proper position, especially in a downward direction.

   a floating kidney.

4. not fixed or settled in a definite place or state.

   a floating population.

5. Finance.

   1. in circulation or use, or not permanently invested, as capital.

   2. composed of sums due within a short time.

      a floating debt.

6. Machinery.

   1. having a soft suspension greatly reducing vibrations between the suspended part and its support.

   2. working smoothly.

floating

/ ˈfləʊtɪŋ /

adjective

1. having little or no attachment

2. (of an organ or part) displaced from the normal position or abnormally movable

   a floating kidney

3. not definitely attached to one place or policy; uncommitted or unfixed

   the floating vote

4. finance

   1. (of capital) not allocated or invested; available for current use

   2. (of debt) short-term and unfunded, usually raised by a government or company to meet current expenses

   3. (of a currency) free to fluctuate against other currencies in accordance with market forces

5. machinery operating smoothly through being free from external constraints

6. (of an electronic circuit or device) not connected to a source of voltage

Other Word Forms

• floatingly adverb
• nonfloating adjective
• nonfloatingly adverb
• unfloating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of floating¹

First recorded in 1555–65; float + -ing ²

Example Sentences

On record, “Anything For Love” gets a knowing wink with in-studio jibing between Lipa and her producers; here she played it straight as a lofty piano ballad for the back seats on a floating riser.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

New details about a floating public garden, which will be part of a nearly $5-billion luxury housing and hotel complex, were unveiled on Thursday by its London-based developer.

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Sable notes that use of a floating treatment vessel would dramatically extend the project’s timeline and likely increase costs for the company, which has already reported funding difficulties after repeated setbacks.

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She performs it in a gondola, floating down the catwalk as she flees the chaos of the main stage for the sanctuary of her piano.

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In Liverpool Rachel Reeves seemed to be floating a pre-emptive argument ahead of possible tax rises in her November Budget.

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Related Words

• soaring