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 calledfloating 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

He thrives in the pick and roll and in isolation, and he’s more than comfortable creating for himself with pull-ups behind the arc or floaters inside of it.

From FiveThirtyEight

It didn’t work, and neither did the Knicks’ efforts to send help in his direction after he tore them up with floaters and pull-ups in Game 1.

From FiveThirtyEight

Durant drives hard at Paul George’s shoulder, skids to a stop and tosses in a floater — letting go at about the height of the rim — that the four-time All-NBA defender can hardly contest.

From FiveThirtyEight

Antetokounmpo delivered another screen, and DiVincenzo dropped a soft floater through the net.

From FiveThirtyEight

He’s connecting on those shots at a 49 percent clip, and it’s an especially deadly weapon for him because of how well he disguises whether he’s shooting a floater or throwing an alley-oop.

From FiveThirtyEight

Then all of a sudden the blue and yellow floater went under and little Hepzebiah caught a sunfish, too.

From Project Gutenberg

I been along the waterfront long enough t' know that th' lad that picks up a floater gets a reward o' ten dollars from th' city.

From Project Gutenberg

I see Page did remember,—or perhaps she is a born floater, just as she is a bubble maker.

From Project Gutenberg

This Harriet made by a puzzling “floater,” a slow ball that fell in the opposite court far out of reach.

From Project Gutenberg

It is as a floater that he excels in water sports; he rides the waves more lightly and gracefully than any other creature.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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