# floating

/ˈfɫoʊtɪŋ/ (US) · /flˈəʊtɪŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/floating
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. buoyant

adjective · CEFR B1

staying on the surface of a liquid or in the air.

For teachers: buoyant; remaining on the surface of a liquid or suspended in a fluid medium.

- The children watched the floating leaves move slowly down the river.
- The floating debris from the shipwreck posed a significant hazard to smaller vessels navigating the coastal waters after the storm.

### 2. not fixed

adjective · CEFR B2

not fixed in one position or not belonging to a specific group.

For teachers: not fixed in a permanent position; shifting or unattached to a specific entity.

- Floating voters often wait until the last week to decide which candidate to support.
- The company maintains a floating population of freelance consultants to handle seasonal spikes in project demands.

### 4. plastering

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

the act of smoothing out plaster on a wall.

For teachers: the process of smoothing or spreading plaster or cement on a surface using a flat tool.

- The builder finished the floating of the kitchen walls yesterday.
- Proper floating is essential to ensure the final coat of plaster adheres evenly to the masonry substrate.

### 5. horse dentistry

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

filing down the sharp edges of a horse's teeth.

For teachers: a veterinary dental procedure involving the filing of the sharp enamel points on the teeth of horses.

- The vet recommended floating the horse's teeth to help it eat more comfortably.
- Regular floating is a critical component of equine dental maintenance, preventing oral ulcerations caused by sharp enamel overgrowths.

### 6. linguistics

adjective · CEFR C2 · Academic · Technical

a sound or tone that is not attached to a specific part of a word.

For teachers: describes a phonological feature, such as a tone, that is not underlyingly attached to a specific segment.

- In some languages, a floating tone can change the meaning of a whole sentence.
- The analysis suggests that the floating high tone associates with the final syllable of the verb stem only under specific syntactic conditions.

## Examples

- The linguist studied the floating tone in the dialect.
- In some languages, a floating tone can move from a deleted vowel to the next available syllable to preserve the meaning.
- The analysis suggests that the morpheme acts as a floating quantifier, capable of associating with various noun phrases within the clause rather than being restricted to a single head.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.