afloat
Americanadverb
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floating or borne on the water; in a floating condition.
The ship was set afloat.
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on board a ship, boat, raft, etc.; at sea.
cargo afloat and ashore.
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covered with water; flooded; awash.
The main deck was afloat.
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moving without being guided or controlled; drifting.
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passing from place to place; in circulation.
A rumor is afloat.
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free of major trouble, especially financially solvent.
to keep a venture afloat.
adjective
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floating
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aboard ship; at sea
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covered with water; flooded
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aimlessly drifting
afloat in a sea of indecision
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in circulation; afoot
nasty rumours were afloat
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free of debt; solvent
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of afloat
before 1000; Middle English, Old English on flote. See a- 1, float
Explanation
If something's afloat, it's drifting on the water. When you sail toy boats, you set them afloat across a pond or lake. You can set something afloat, like an inner tube in a pool or a leaf on a stream, or you can struggle to stay afloat, as when the passengers of a capsized boat try to keep their heads above water. In either case, being afloat means floating on the surface. The Old English word is aflote, from a Germanic root word.
Vocabulary lists containing afloat
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Portuguese government committed to a deep restructuring of the airline in 2021 in exchange for EU approval of 3.2 billion euros of public aid to keep it afloat.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Supporting all that consumption is an economy that might frustrate Americans but is nonetheless keeping spending habits afloat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Alex Wood, from charity Freewheelers which delivers medical supplies, said it has had to dip into reserves to keep afloat.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Gavin Honore has been keeping the Mater Dei offense afloat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
My entire genealogy file, my notebooks, my books, everything was afloat; I nearly cried, and I was so upset I started speaking German.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
