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 Vatican press office said that Leo celebrated mass on Saturday, as he has in recent days, in a room on the 10th floor of the hospital where he has been recovering.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
"My grandson should be in his classroom, with all of his friends," she said, her gaze turning towards the school's second floor.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Liu made outsize profits for Vitol, where he was one of the leaders on the trading floor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The images shared on Friday showed the Chicago-born Pope wearing a green robe while standing behind a makeshift altar on the tenth floor of the hospital.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Other inhabitants use silence for cover—the lizards crawling on dead trees, the hordes of gnats hovering above our heads, and the worms wiggling in and out of the muddy swamp floor.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
High school sports programs are filled with dozens of volunteers — manning the snack bar, taking tickets, helping provide security, cleaning floors, carrying equipment and taking statistics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
The unit features hardwood floors and built-in bookshelves and storage.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
The expanded complex, which stretches across eight floors, is part shop, part exhibition space and part private club for Prada’s biggest spenders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Attention is also turning to the often-forgotten upper floors of buildings along the once-iconic Union Street.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
I was imagining concrete floors and mice skittering about, but the sofa bed is unfolded and covered with a thick quilt.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
The compliance team, those people recalled, was floored by Coplan’s response: Just keep growing and pay a fine if regulators ever find out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
“Obviously the guy was floored just to see me, let alone to see Mark,” Kasten said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
She said the diagnosis had "floored" her and she had relied on counselling services to keep her going.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 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
“You guys floored me,” she told her players when they had settled down enough to hear her speak.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
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
He first ripped out a patch of artificial grass—a creature comfort running down the middle of the facility—and replaced it with rubber flooring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
I followed him into the house, with its charred walls, ceiling and flooring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 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
She crawls along the center beam, from which the narrow planks of flooring emanate, toward the stone bulk of the chimney at the far end.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
