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

Sengun’s attempt at a game-winner when he got stood up by Jaxon Hayes on a turnaround baseline floater wasn’t the play the Rockets drew up, Udoka said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026

D'Angelo Russell's floater lifted Dallas within 95-94 with 54.8 seconds remaining but Isaiah Hartenstein answered with a layup to give the Thunder a 97-94 edge.

From Barron's • Oct. 28, 2025

His floater with 5:16 left gave them a 96-92 lead.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2025

James Harden missed his first five shots before scoring on a floater late in the first quarter.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2025

I am the flisher and floater and mostly invisible being!

From "The Unfinished Angel" by Sharon Creech

Related Words

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