floor

[ flawr ]

noun

1. that part of a room, hallway, or the like, that forms its lower enclosing surface and upon which one walks.
2. 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.
3. a level, supporting surface in any structure:

   the elevator floor.

4. one of two or more layers of material composing a floor:

   rough floor; finish floor.

5. a platform or prepared level area for a particular use:

   a threshing floor.

6. the bottom of any more or less hollow place:

   the floor of a tunnel.

7. a more or less flat extent of surface:

   the floor of the ocean.

8. the part of a legislative chamber, meeting room, etc., where the members sit, and from which they speak.
9. the right of one member to speak from such a place in preference to other members:

   The senator from Alaska has the floor.

10. 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.

11. the main part of a stock or commodity exchange or the like, as distinguished from the galleries, platform, etc.
12. the bottom, base, or minimum charged, demanded, or paid:

    The government avoided establishing a price or wage floor.

13. Mining. an underlying stratum, as of ore, usually flat.
14. Nautical.
    1. the bottom of a hull.
    2. 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.
    3. the lowermost member of a frame in a wooden vessel.

verb (used with object)

1. to cover or furnish with a floor.
2. to bring down to the floor or ground; knock down:

   He floored his opponent with one blow.

3. to overwhelm; defeat.
4. to confound or puzzle; nonplus:

   I was floored by the problem.

5. Also to push (a foot-operated accelerator pedal) all the way down to the floor of a vehicle, for maximum speed or power.

floor

/ flɔː /

noun

1. Also calledflooring the inner lower surface of a room
2. a storey of a building

   the second floor

3. a flat bottom surface in or on any structure

   a dance floor

   the floor of a lift

4. the bottom surface of a tunnel, cave, river, sea, etc
5. mining an underlying stratum
6. nautical the bottom, or the lowermost framing members at the bottom, of a vessel
7. that part of a legislative hall in which debate and other business is conducted
8. the right to speak in a legislative or deliberative body (esp in the phrases get, have, or be given the floor )
9. the room in a stock exchange where trading takes place
10. the earth; ground
11. a minimum price charged or paid

    a wage floor

12. take the floor
    take the floor to begin dancing on a dance floor

verb

1. to cover with or construct a floor
2. tr to knock to the floor or ground
3. informal.
   tr to disconcert, confound, or defeat

   to be floored by a problem

Other Words From

• floor·less adjective
• un·der·floor noun
• un·floor verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of floor¹

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 )

Word History and Origins

Origin of floor¹

Old English flōr ; related to Old Norse flōrr , Middle Low German vlōr floor, Latin plānus level, Greek planan to cause to wander

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. mop / wipe the floor with, Informal. to overwhelm completely; defeat:

   He expected to mop the floor with his opponents.

2. take the floor, to arise to address a meeting.

More idioms and phrases containing floor

see ground floor ; mop up the floor with ; sink through the floor ; take the floor ; walk the floor .

Example Sentences

Finally, installing data centers on the ocean floor is, surprisingly, much faster than building them on land.

From Singularity Hub 

At home, many kids have more freedom to lie on the floor, pace around, move to another room or take breaks as needed.

From Science News For Students

The guy is swatting layups every other time down the floor, it seems.

From FiveThirtyEight

I think we’ve really reset our floor for what monthly success and targets look like.

From Digiday

Westbrook’s poor shooting and inability to space the floor can grind Houston’s offense to a halt.

From FiveThirtyEight

It was a Senate floor soap opera over none other than a soap-opera producer.

From The Daily Beast

When I saw the fire in the restaurant, I ran down to the floor below, where I was trapped between flames above and below.

From The Daily Beast

Twin girls, Greta and Grace, run around the floor in circles, wearing pink playsuits with tiny pink wings attached.

From The Daily Beast

Instead, most of the suffering species ate insects on the forest floor.

From The Daily Beast

Its beautifully aged wooden exterior houses traditional floor seating and beautiful gardens typical of the area.

From The Daily Beast

She looked so sweet when she said it, standing and smiling there in the middle of the floor, the door-way making a frame for her.

From Project Gutenberg

The inner ends of the burrows were enlarged with a depression in the floor, where the eggs were laid.

From Project Gutenberg

Her feet felt rooted to the floor in the wonder and doubt of this strange occurrence.

From Project Gutenberg

Last night I saw Jean Baptiste lying prone upon the floor, and knew that she had beaten him down to it, and he had not resisted.

From Project Gutenberg

Several able speakers had made long addresses in support of the bill when one Mr. Morrisett, from Monroe, took the floor.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• basement
• canvas
• carpet
• deck
• flooring
• ground
• mat
• rug
• stage