floor
Americannoun
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floors
plural
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that part of a room, hallway, or the like, that forms its lower enclosing surface and upon which one walks.
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a continuous, supporting surface extending horizontally throughout a building, having a number of rooms, apartments, or the like, and constituting one level or stage in the structure; story.
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a level, supporting surface in any structure.
the elevator floor.
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one of two or more layers of material composing a floor.
rough floor; finish floor.
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a platform or prepared level area for a particular use.
a threshing floor.
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the bottom of any more or less hollow place.
the floor of a tunnel.
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a more or less flat extent of surface.
the floor of the ocean.
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the part of a legislative chamber, meeting room, etc., where the members sit, and from which they speak.
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the right of one member to speak from such a place in preference to other members.
The senator from Alaska has the floor.
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the area of a floor, as in a factory or retail store, where items are actually made or sold, as opposed to offices, supply areas, etc..
There are only two salesclerks on the floor.
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the main part of a stock or commodity exchange or the like, as distinguished from the galleries, platform, etc.
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the bottom, base, or minimum charged, demanded, or paid.
The government avoided establishing a price or wage floor.
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Mining. an underlying stratum, as of ore, usually flat.
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Nautical.
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the bottom of a hull.
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any of a number of deep, transverse framing members at the bottom of a steel or iron hull, generally interrupted by and joined to any vertical keel or keelsons.
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the lowermost member of a frame in a wooden vessel.
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verb (used with object)
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floors,
present (3rd person singular)
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floored,
past participle, past
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flooring
present participle
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to cover or furnish with a floor.
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to bring down to the floor or ground; knock down.
He floored his opponent with one blow.
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to overwhelm; defeat.
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to confound or puzzle; nonplus.
I was floored by the problem.
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Also to push (a foot-operated accelerator pedal) all the way down to the floor of a vehicle, for maximum speed or power.
idioms
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mop / wipe the floor with, to overwhelm completely; defeat.
He expected to mop the floor with his opponents.
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take the floor, to arise to address a meeting.
noun
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Also called: flooring. the inner lower surface of a room
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a storey of a building
the second floor
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a flat bottom surface in or on any structure
the floor of a lift
a dance floor
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the bottom surface of a tunnel, cave, river, sea, etc
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mining an underlying stratum
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nautical the bottom, or the lowermost framing members at the bottom, of a vessel
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that part of a legislative hall in which debate and other business is conducted
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the right to speak in a legislative or deliberative body (esp in the phrases get, have, or be given the floor )
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the room in a stock exchange where trading takes place
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the earth; ground
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a minimum price charged or paid
a wage floor
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to begin dancing on a dance floor
verb
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to cover with or construct a floor
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(tr) to knock to the floor or ground
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informal (tr) to disconcert, confound, or defeat
to be floored by a problem
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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floorsimple
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floorssimple
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have flooredperfect
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has flooredperfect
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am flooringprogressive
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are flooringprogressive
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is flooringprogressive
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have been flooringperfect progressive
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has been flooringperfect progressive
Past
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flooredsimple
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had flooredperfect
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was flooringprogressive
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were flooringprogressive
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had been flooringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of floor
First recorded before 900; from Middle English flor, Old English flōr; cognate with Old Norse flōr, Middle Low German vlōr, Middle High German vluor ( German Flur )
Explanation
A floor is the surface at the very bottom, or base, of a room. When you lie on your back on the floor, you are looking up at the ceiling. Your living room floor might be covered with carpet, while the floor of your tent is probably canvas or nylon. While a floor is the bottom of a structure, it's also the lowest surface of the ocean: "Crabs scuttle across the ocean floor." If you live in a dorm or stay in a hotel, your floor is the level of the building where your room is located. Informally, if something floors you, it confounds or confuses you.
Vocabulary lists containing floor
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.
See Examples For:
The 61st floor, whose exterior features a tribute to the radiator caps of early Chrysler vehicles, is to be converted into a dining space with access to outdoor terraces.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Katie: I’d give it a 2 for the beautiful, tiny sashimi that was prepared live on the floor for approximately 15 minutes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
A third floor comprises the master bedroom, surrounded by three decks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The building next to it, with a dental practice in its ground floor, had its windows open.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
The birds are drowned out by the thrum of tires, but they flit from branch to forest floor to sky, and you know they like to sing while they move.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Banks reaped the rewards of SpaceX’s historic initial public offering, while market volatility kept trading floors bustling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
While he said talks would resume this week, that was unable to lift the gloom on trading floors, with traders contemplating further rises in inflation that will force the Fed to tighten monetary policy more.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
People have been urged to stay at home and those living close to the city's network of canals have been advised to move their belongings to upper floors.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
Routine tasks such as mopping floors, spraying countertops, and wiping surfaces with scented products generate billions or trillions of particles, with the total depending on the product.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
Mulberry Row’s small houses were between twelve and fourteen feet wide and fourteen to twenty feet long, with dirt floors and a fireplace.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
“Obviously the guy was floored just to see me, let alone to see Mark,” Kasten said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
From the panels to the exhibit hall, I was floored by the number of artists, the collectibles and the displays.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026
The 41-year-old producer said her team at Stained Glass TV had been "floored" by the show's reception not just locally, but across the continent.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
To lean into the weather, Triple Eight uses dirt floored, open-air warehouses that invite contact between aging barrels and the salty coastal air.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
In any event, I was stunned at what I was watching; the organization, the conceptualization, the pure order of what I was seeing floored me, and then it changed again, grew.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
The small house includes a functional kitchen, wood flooring, and a bathroom, allowing the researchers to recreate ordinary household cleaning activities.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
The interiors include an open-concept living area with a fireplace, along with a combination of carpet and wood-toned flooring.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
Meanwhile, building-materials suppliers, such as roofing and flooring manufacturers, have struggled to make up lost business as homeowners opt to stay in their current homes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
The ruins of rooms from Phoenician, Persian and Roman periods have been uncovered, their pink or grey flooring helping to distinguish them.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
For the floor, I'll use the original flooring material from the two pop-tents.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Definitions 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.
