floater

American  

[floh-ter] / ˈfloʊ tər /

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.

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floater British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of floater

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

Explanation

Anything that can float on the surface of water is a floater. When you relax in a pool, floating on your back, you're a floater. If you throw pennies in the water, they'll sink, but a dollar bill will be a floater, as are dragonflies on a lake's surface and beach balls bobbing in the surf. A completely different floater is a tiny speck that seems to float across your vision, a small, nearly-translucent deposit on your eyeball of the sort that becomes fairly common as you get older. In US police slang, a floater is a body found in the water.

Example Sentences

Creating similar products is Tobar, whose sub-brand The Throne Room offers a tightly coiled “poo hat” and something called the Floater.

From The Guardian • Apr. 10, 2019

Garland dubbed his winning shot the "Southwest Philly Floater."

From Seattle Times • Mar. 25, 2013

To catch them, troll short-billed minnow plugs, such as the Rapala Original Floater and Smithwick Rogue, behind in-line boards.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Well, then, if you wish me to speak, I would suggest that you strap on your Floater and help me prepare the Ejector."

From Youth by Asimov, Isaac

His Floater had burnt out while still sufficiently distant from surface to have the fall stun him.

From Youth by Asimov, Isaac

Related Words

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