[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

float \float\, v. i. imp.  p. p. floated; p. pr.  vb. n.
   floating. oe. flotien, flotten, as. flotian to float,
   swim, fr. fle'otan. see float, n.
   1. to rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed
      up.
      1913 webster

            the ark no more now floats, but seems on ground.
                                                  --milton.
      1913 webster

            three blustering nights, borne by the southern
            blast,
            i floated.                            --dryden.
      1913 webster

   2. to move quietly or gently on the water, as a raft; to
      drift along; to move or glide without effort or impulse on
      the surface of a fluid, or through the air.
      1913 webster

            they stretch their broad plumes and float upon the
            wind.                                 --pope.
      1913 webster

            there seems a floating whisper on the hills.
                                                  --byron.
      1913 webster
see also:
floated floating float 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

floating \float"ing\, a.
   1. buoyed upon or in a fluid; a, the floating timbers of a
      wreck; floating motes in the air.
      1913 webster

   2. free or lose from the usual attachment; as, the floating
      ribs in man and some other animals.
      1913 webster

   3. not funded; not fixed, invested, or determined; as,
      floating capital; a floating debt.
      1913 webster

            trade was at an end. floating capital had been
            withdrawn in great masses from the island.
                                                  --macaulay.
      1913 webster

   floating anchor naut., a drag or sea anchor; drag sail.
      

   floating battery mil., a battery erected on rafts or the
      hulls of ships, chiefly for the defense of a coast or the
      bombardment of a place.

   floating bridge.
      a a bridge consisting of rafts or timber, with a floor
          of plank, supported wholly by the water; a bateau
          bridge. see bateau.
      b mil. a kind of double bridge, the upper one
          projecting beyond the lower one, and capable of being
          moved forward by pulleys; -- used for carrying troops
          over narrow moats in attacking the outworks of a fort.
      c a kind of ferryboat which is guided and impelled by
          means of chains which are anchored on each side of a
          stream, and pass over wheels on the vessel, the wheels
          being driven by stream power.
      d the landing platform of a ferry dock.

   floating cartilage med., a cartilage which moves freely
      in the cavity of a joint, and often interferes with the
      functions of the latter.

   floating dam.
      a an anchored dam.
      b a caisson used as a gate for a dry dock.

   floating derrick, a derrick on a float for river and harbor
      use, in raising vessels, moving stone for harbor
      improvements, etc.

   floating dock. naut. see under dock.

   floating harbor, a breakwater of cages or booms, anchored
      and fastened together, and used as a protection to ships
      riding at anchor to leeward. --knight.

   floating heart bot., a small aquatic plant limnanthemum
      lacunosum whose heart-shaped leaves float on the water
      of american ponds.

   floating island, a dish for dessert, consisting of custard
      with floating masses of whipped cream or white of eggs.

   floating kidney. med. see wandering kidney, under
      wandering.

   floating light, a light shown at the masthead of a vessel
      moored over sunken rocks, shoals, etc., to warn mariners
      of danger; a light-ship; also, a light erected on a buoy
      or floating stage.

   floating liver. med. see wandering liver, under
      wandering.

   floating pier, a landing stage or pier which rises and
      falls with the tide.

   floating ribs anat., the lower or posterior ribs which
      are not connected with the others in front; in man they
      are the last two pairs.

   floating screed plastering, a strip of plastering first
      laid on, to serve as a guide for the thickness of the
      coat.

   floating threads weaving, threads which span several
      other threads without being interwoven with them, in a
      woven fabric.
      1913 webster
see also:
floating anchor floating battery floating bridge bateau floating cartilage floating dam 
floating derrick floating dock dock floating harbor floating heart 
limnanthemum lacunosum floating island floating kidney wandering kidney wandering 
floating light floating liver wandering liver floating pier floating ribs 
floating screed floating threads 

[3] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

floating \float"ing\, n.
   1. weaving floating threads. see floating threads, above.
      1913 webster

   2. the second coat of three-coat plastering. --knight.
      1913 webster

   3. the process of rendering oysters and scallops plump by
      placing them in fresh or brackish water; -- called also
      fattening, plumping, and laying out.
      webster 1913 suppl. floating charge
see also:
floating threads fattening plumping laying out 

[4] : WordNet (r) 2.0

floating
     adj 1: continually changing especially as from one abode or
            occupation to another; "a drifting double-dealer";
            "the floating population"; "vagrant hippies of the
            sixties" syn: aimless, drifting, vagabond, vagrant
     2: inclined to move or be moved about; "a floating crap game"
     3: of a part of the body not firmly connected; movable or out
        of normal position; "floating ribs are not connected with
        the sternum"; "a floating kidney" syn: floatinga
     4: not definitely committed to a party or policy; "floating
        voters" syn: floatinga
     5: borne up by or suspended in a liquid; "the ship is still
        floating"; "floating logs"; "floating seaweed"
     n : the act of someone who floats on the water
see also:
aimless drifting vagabond vagrant floatinga 

[5] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

119 moby thesaurus words for "floating":
   australian crawl, hare system, pr, absentee voting, adrift, afloat,
   aquaplaning, aquatics, awash, backstroke, ballot-box stuffing,
   balneation, bathe, bathing, breaststroke, buoyant, butterfly,
   card voting, circumforaneous, clear, colonization, coming out,
   crawl, cumulative system, cumulative voting, curtain raiser, debut,
   discursive, divagatory, diving, dog paddle, drifting,
   election fraud, embarkation, embarkment, errant, fin,
   first appearance, fishtail, flapper, flipper, flitting, floatable,
   floaty, flotation, footloose, footloose and fancy-free, free,
   fugitive, gadding, gypsy-like, gypsyish, inaugural address,
   inauguration, induction, initiation, installation, installment,
   introduction, landloping, launching, list system, loose,
   maiden speech, meandering, migrational, migratory, natation, nomad,
   nomadic, opener, plural system, preferential system,
   preferential voting, preliminary, proportional representation,
   proxy voting, rambling, ranging, repeating, rickety, roaming,
   roving, shaky, shifting, sidestroke, single system,
   single transferrable vote, single-member district, straggling,
   straying, strolling, supernatant, surfboarding, surfing, swim,
   swimming, traipsing, transient, transitory, transmigratory,
   treading water, unanchored, unbound, undone, unfastened, unfixed,
   unstuck, untied, unveiling, vagabond, vagrant, vote, voting,
   voting machine, wading, wandering, water-borne, waterskiing

Floating >> F Words
Floating, definition of term: Floating
floating_pag1.html

Floating Island >> F Words
Floating Island, definition of term: Floating Island
floating+island_pag1.html

Floating Dock >> F Words
Floating Dock, definition of term: Floating Dock
floating+dock_pag1.html