flotation
Americannoun
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an act or state of floating.
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the launching of a commercial venture, bond issue, loan, etc.
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Metallurgy. a process for separating the different minerals in a mass of powdered ore based on their tendency to sink in, or float on, a given liquid.
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the science of floating bodies.
noun
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the launching or financing of a commercial enterprise by bond or share issues
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the raising of a loan or new capital by bond or share issues
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power or ability to float; buoyancy
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Also called: froth flotation. a process to concentrate the valuable ore in low-grade ores. The ore is ground to a powder, mixed with water containing surface-active chemicals, and vigorously aerated. The bubbles formed trap the required ore fragments and carry them to the surface froth, which is then skimmed off
Etymology
Origin of flotation
First recorded in 1800–10; float + -ation; compare French flottaison ( see flotsam)
Explanation
When something is buoyant, carried on the surface of water, that's flotation. If you have a swimming pool in your backyard, you definitely need at least one unicorn-shaped flotation device. The ability to float is flotation, which can also be spelled floatation. A flotation device can be a safety feature on a boat, like the floating foam rings that can be used in case of emergency or the life jackets sailors wear. It can also be for fun, like an inflatable raft you use for floating around a pond. The Old English root of flotation is flotian, "to rest on the surface of water."
Vocabulary lists containing flotation
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.
Back in Bidur, Hawadi said rescue teams were struggling with a lack of adequate equipment, including flotation devices needed to operate safely in floodwaters.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
This could help explain why so many of those who came on Thursday swam or used flotation devices to get to Ceuta.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Footage showed migrants swimming and using inflatable rings and other flotation devices to swim to Ceuta on Thursday, while others ran through a gate in the border fence.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
The successful flotation raised about $8.5 billion for the 7% of shares that were offered although the over-allotment of shares, allows underwriters to increase that to around $10 billion.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
I still couldn’t see much of the island—just mist and rocks—but floating in the water were pieces of wood and fiberglass, the wreckage of old ships, even some flotation cushions from airplanes.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
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.
