floating
- 01 B1 Intermediate
adj.staying on the surface of a liquid or in the air.
adj.buoyant; remaining on the surface of a liquid or suspended in a fluid medium.
Simple“The children watched the floating leaves move slowly down the river.”
In context“The floating debris from the shipwreck posed a significant hazard to smaller vessels navigating the coastal waters after the storm.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.not fixed in one position or not belonging to a specific group.
adj.not fixed in a permanent position; shifting or unattached to a specific entity.
Simple“Floating voters often wait until the last week to decide which candidate to support.”
In context“The company maintains a floating population of freelance consultants to handle seasonal spikes in project demands.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
n.the act of smoothing out plaster on a wall.
n.the process of smoothing or spreading plaster or cement on a surface using a flat tool.
Simple“The builder finished the floating of the kitchen walls yesterday.”
In context“Proper floating is essential to ensure the final coat of plaster adheres evenly to the masonry substrate.”
- 04 C2 Proficiency
n.filing down the sharp edges of a horse's teeth.
n.a veterinary dental procedure involving the filing of the sharp enamel points on the teeth of horses.
Simple“The vet recommended floating the horse's teeth to help it eat more comfortably.”
In context“Regular floating is a critical component of equine dental maintenance, preventing oral ulcerations caused by sharp enamel overgrowths.”
Synonymsfilingrasping - 05 C2 Proficiency
adj.a sound or tone that is not attached to a specific part of a word.
adj.describes a phonological feature, such as a tone, that is not underlyingly attached to a specific segment.
Simple“In some languages, a floating tone can change the meaning of a whole sentence.”
In context“The analysis suggests that the floating high tone associates with the final syllable of the verb stem only under specific syntactic conditions.”
“Those killed included a man in his 60s or 70s found floating on a flooded road and a 66-year-old woman trapped in her submerged car, the Chiba Prefecture Disaster Management Office said.”
“Citizen Zoo has also set up camera traps and "latrine rafts" - floating rafts where the water voles defecate - to help gather evidence of the population on the Hogsmill.”
By surface analysis, float + -ing.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.