1
as in to hover
to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air
a canoe floating down the river particles of dust floating in the air
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to wander
to move about from place to place aimlessly
lost touch with a childhood friend who spent much of his adult life floating from place to place
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in dock
a structure used by boats and ships for taking on or landing cargo and passengers
the crew put the cargo on the float before heading back down the river
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of float
Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 22 Mar. 2026
There also remains plenty of floating storage, and other oil storage, in the world.
—Eric Rosenbaum, CNBC, 22 Mar. 2026
Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026
There are marching bands, equestrian groups, floats, community groups and more that will be featured.
—Heather McRea, Oc Register, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for float
Verb
Some congressional Republicans were already floating the bold idea of passing another big tax and spending law before the midterms.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 22 Mar. 2026
There also remains plenty of floating storage, and other oil storage, in the world.
—Eric Rosenbaum, CNBC, 22 Mar. 2026
Noun
Particulate matter, or PM, is the mixture of tiny solid and liquid matter that collects on surfaces and floats in the air.
—Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026
There are marching bands, equestrian groups, floats, community groups and more that will be featured.
—Heather McRea, Oc Register, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for float
Recent Examples of Synonyms for float
Verb
-
Not the good, high-altitude ozone that shields us from dangerous UV light, but bad ozone, hovering right above ground level — stinking, brownish, grayish photochemical smog.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Several hundred meters away, at the Cheonggyecheon stream, levels still hovered between 70 and 80 decibels—the intensity of a busy street or a vacuum cleaner.—
Yook JiHun,
Popular Science,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The bohemian Užupis district feels like a film set in its own right, and wandering through the cobblestoned streets with kids is the kind of immersive, screen-free adventure that sticks with a family long after the suitcases are unpacked.—
Lauren Schuster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 Mar. 2026
-
German Jews—my people—were far less numerous, most of them came to the United States earlier, and their typical first occupation was peddling, which entailed wandering through non-Jewish areas, not living in tenements.—
Adam Kirsch,
The Atlantic,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The storm lifted the roof of a boathouse and damaged a dock, garage, and fence.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Walk the longer route to the ferry dock.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Johnston got the save on the third shot by Permian and the fourth sailed over the top of the goal.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
25 Mar. 2026
-
There were many circuits of long-distance trade, mostly organized around large bodies of water, mostly conducted by small ships that could not sail in open ocean.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The employees of Rockin’ Grandma’s roam the grounds of the retreat site, which boasts multiple structures, and are visited by a series of guest speakers whose lectures range from the merely dull to the truly Dada.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
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It's estimated 60 million bison once roamed North America, but they were nearly driven to extinction in the 1800s, and by 1889, there were only a few hundred wild bison remained.—
Madeline Bartos,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Pan captured 243 photographs and 13 videos of payload-processing facilities, munitions bunkers, security checkpoints, mission-control centers, fuel and ordnance storage sites, and the nuclear submarine wharf.—
Adam Ciralsky,
Vanity Fair,
19 Mar. 2026
-
The first responders arrived to find a vehicle submerged in about 10 feet of water just off the wharf parking lot.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
By swimming among them day after day.—
BRADY DENNIS THE WASHINGTON POST,
Arkansas Online,
22 Mar. 2026
-
The sentences swim and skim like surface bugs.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Later, settle in for a pint at Teach Ósta, the lone pub, where conversations drift easily from myth to weather to memory.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Mar. 2026
-
There is something timeless about staring at only water and sky, easy to drift back to 1914 when this building was designed by the New York architecture firm McKim Mead & White.—
Rick Kogan,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Float.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/float. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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