floater

noun

float·​er ˈflō-tər 

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

US : floating holiday

Examples of floater in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Experts say that looking at the eclipse with a naked eye can cause blurred vision, floaters, blind spots, or low vision. —Armani Syed, TIME, 8 Apr. 2024

There were smooth pull-up jumpers, driving layups, floaters, pull-up threes in transition and assists out of pick-and-rolls. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2024

Andrews had a chance to put UCLA ahead on its next possession but his floater rolled off the rim. —Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024

There were some anxious moments after Vassell hit a tough 3-pointer to put the Spurs up 120-116, but Monk made a floater, Fox buried a stepback 3-pointer and Murray threw down a dunk on a lob from Fox to fuel a 9-0 run. —Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 23 Feb. 2024

Charlotte went ahead for good at 122-121 on P.J. Washington's floater with 3:21 remaining. —Phil Ervin, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024

Her floater in the lane at the end of the third gave Newington a 38-29 lead. —Lori Riley, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

1717, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Medical Definition

floater

noun

float·​er ˈflōt-ər 

: 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