floater

noun

float·​er ˈflō-tər How to pronounce floater (audio)
1
a
: one that floats
b
: a person who floats something
2
: a person who votes illegally in various polling places
3
a
: a person without a permanent residence or regular employment
b
: a worker who moves from job to job
especially : one without fixed duties
4
: a pitched, thrown, or hit ball that moves through the air relatively slowly with little or no spin or rotation
5
: a policy insuring specific items of personal property (such as jewelry or art)
6
: a bit of optical debris (such as a dead cell or cell fragment) in the vitreous humor or lens that may be perceived as a spot before the eye
also : a spot in the visual field due to such debris
usually used in plural
7

Examples of floater in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Where Mahomes got away with a fourth-quarter, up-the-middle floater that landed between a cluster of Niners defenders and a zip code away from any Chief, Niners great Joe Montana threw a pass to Bengals cornerback Lewis Billups only for Billups to drop it in the end zone. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2024 His driving floater gave the Warriors a two-point lead with 14 seconds remaining, but Dejounte Murray tied it with a jumper and Curry missed the game-winning shot to send it to overtime. Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, 3 Feb. 2024 Anfernee Simons scored 24 points, including a key floater with 17.1 seconds left, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks 119-116 on Wednesday night. Anne M. Peterson, USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2024 Sacramento didn’t take its first lead of the game until 1:10 remaining until halftime, when Fox nailed a floater to put the Kings up by a point, 66-65. Omari Sankofa Ii, Detroit Free Press, 10 Jan. 2024 After knocking on the proverbial door on back-to-back trips in the attacking third — via dangerous crosses from Nathan Byrne — Charlotte FC finally broke it down thanks to a corner taken by Kerwin Vargas, whose right-footed floater found the head of Iuri Tavares. Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 25 Feb. 2024 Cornelius made a technical free throw and Ian Hunter hit a floater in the lane to make it 44-38, and wing Emmanuel Duru made one of two free throws with 2:14 left. Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024 After an empty possession from the Lakers, Murray hit an 11-foot floater in transition to give Denver a five-point lead. Khobi Price, Orange County Register, 9 Feb. 2024 Herro was particularly effective with his floater game and also helped clean up some of the misses, with nine rebounds through three quarters. Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 16 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'floater.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1717, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of floater was in 1717

Dictionary Entries Near floater

Cite this Entry

“Floater.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/floater. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

floater

noun
float·​er ˈflōt-ər How to pronounce floater (audio)
: a bit of optical debris (as a dead cell or cell fragment) in the vitreous body or lens that may be perceived as a spot before the eye
also : a spot in the visual field due to such debris
usually used in plural
compare muscae volitantes

Legal Definition

floater

noun
float·​er
1
[from the notion that the policy “floats” with the goods it insures, wherever they might be located] : a policy or supplemental attachment to a policy insuring specific items of personal property (as jewelry or art)
specifically : a policy of insurance to protect against loss or damage of goods in transit or goods (as jewels) naturally subject to use in various places

called also floating policy

2
: a debt security that yields an indexed variable rate of interest
especially : floating rate note at note

More from Merriam-Webster on floater

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!