as in floating
riding upon the surface of a body of liquid
the boat can't stay afloat much longer
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as in abroad
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Recent Examples of afloat
Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 20 Feb. 2026
The bird was struggling to stay afloat.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
Several restaurateurs told the city that during pandemic lockdowns, drive-through business was the only thing that kept them afloat.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 17 Feb. 2026
But the crisis is real and someone needs to keep this ship afloat.
—Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026
Saks Global’s bankruptcy is claiming nearly 10 stores in its latest move to stay afloat.
—Brian Womack, Dallas Morning News, 10 Feb. 2026
To stay afloat, Esnard exhausted his personal credit limit.
—Scott Horsley, NPR, 9 Feb. 2026
While Utah needed the loss in order to help secure better positioning in June’s NBA draft, Orlando needed the win just as badly to help remain afloat in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
—Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2026
The resulting funding gap meant Edwards and his leadership team had to get creative in order to keep the organization afloat.
—Natalie Wallington, MLK50, 3 Feb. 2026
Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
But the restaurant chain's strong comparable restaurant sales through the first seven weeks of the first quarter of 2026 paired with no change in management's commodity inflation outlook for the year are keeping shares afloat Thursday evening.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 20 Feb. 2026
On June 28, 911 received a report of a child struggling to stay afloat in the Des Moines River near Principal Park.
—Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register, 18 Feb. 2026
The expansive grounds cover 19 acres bordering the river, including a recreated 19th-century New England coastal village, a working shipyard, and the only wooden whaleship ship still afloat in the United States.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Feb. 2026
Gloria hasn’t returned to Africa for a long time, while Nour has never seen the land of her mother, nor the village that her grandfather helped keep afloat by working as an immigrant in France.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
Her grandparents are constantly bickering, worn down by the pressures of keeping the family hotel afloat.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
Canepa has been struggling to stay afloat in recent years, logging sales of between 15 million and 17 million euros in the most recent fiscal years, according to Achille Pinto.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 10 Feb. 2026
As the district works to stay afloat until the summer, efforts to shape the fiscal solvency plan for the following two years begin, which will bring more serious cuts.
—Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
Cars were still given as parting gifts for retired employees, and hundreds of thousands of dollars continued to be spent on promotional events and videos — all while membership continued its downward spiral and the union’s pension fund struggled to stay afloat.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 20 Feb. 2026
The bird was struggling to stay afloat.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
Several restaurateurs told the city that during pandemic lockdowns, drive-through business was the only thing that kept them afloat.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 17 Feb. 2026
But the crisis is real and someone needs to keep this ship afloat.
—Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026
Saks Global’s bankruptcy is claiming nearly 10 stores in its latest move to stay afloat.
—Brian Womack, Dallas Morning News, 10 Feb. 2026
To stay afloat, Esnard exhausted his personal credit limit.
—Scott Horsley, NPR, 9 Feb. 2026
While Utah needed the loss in order to help secure better positioning in June’s NBA draft, Orlando needed the win just as badly to help remain afloat in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
—Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2026
The resulting funding gap meant Edwards and his leadership team had to get creative in order to keep the organization afloat.
—Natalie Wallington, MLK50, 3 Feb. 2026
Adverb
Meanwhile, Lucas was pushing Coppola to do a studio film for hire to keep his fledgling Zoetrope Studio afloat, making Coppola feel pressured to sell out.
—Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
But the restaurant chain's strong comparable restaurant sales through the first seven weeks of the first quarter of 2026 paired with no change in management's commodity inflation outlook for the year are keeping shares afloat Thursday evening.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 20 Feb. 2026
On June 28, 911 received a report of a child struggling to stay afloat in the Des Moines River near Principal Park.
—Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register, 18 Feb. 2026
The expansive grounds cover 19 acres bordering the river, including a recreated 19th-century New England coastal village, a working shipyard, and the only wooden whaleship ship still afloat in the United States.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Feb. 2026
Gloria hasn’t returned to Africa for a long time, while Nour has never seen the land of her mother, nor the village that her grandfather helped keep afloat by working as an immigrant in France.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
Her grandparents are constantly bickering, worn down by the pressures of keeping the family hotel afloat.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
Canepa has been struggling to stay afloat in recent years, logging sales of between 15 million and 17 million euros in the most recent fiscal years, according to Achille Pinto.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 10 Feb. 2026
As the district works to stay afloat until the summer, efforts to shape the fiscal solvency plan for the following two years begin, which will bring more serious cuts.
—Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 6 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for afloat
Adjective
-
Companies with a smaller market value generally tend to have more floating rate debt than larger businesses.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Social media posts and years of reviewing cookie-cutter luxury hotels had conditioned me to equate floating breakfasts, monogrammed accessories, butler service, and aromatherapy menus as markers of a dreamy luxury vacation.—
Katherine Alex Beaven,
Travel + Leisure,
22 Oct. 2024
Adverb
-
At the same time, losses are mounting on the frontlines, and millions of people who have fled as refugees have now settled abroad.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
22 Feb. 2026
-
The race also follows Lara’s two troubled terms in office, during which he has been accused of cozying up to and receiving money from the insurance industry for his first campaign and conferences abroad.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
And while the absence of a hometown rooting interest obviously won’t translate into a total baseball blackout hereabouts, only someone who’s been clobbered over the head by Wonderboy might expect to see the World Series ratings reach the heights of last year.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
10 Oct. 2025
-
This time the recipient is area rancher Benjamin Bonney (Dermot Mulroney), who along with his thuggish sons is suspected of murdering anyone hereabouts who won’t surrender their own land to him.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
10 Jan. 2025
Adverb
-
Look closely, and themed details are almost everywhere.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Feb. 2026
-
For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you.—
Janelle Ash , Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Afloat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afloat. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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