afloat 1 of 2

as in floating
riding upon the surface of a body of liquid the boat can't stay afloat much longer

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

afloat

2 of 2

adverb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of afloat
Adjective
Rush is not the answer to keep things afloat while Lamar heals, and that is a big issue. James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025 As an example, Hemmati points to the many businesses that had to shift strategies or entire business models to stay afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic closures that started in 2020. Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 10 Oct. 2025 The Tiger defense has also kept Auburn afloat, as none of AU’s first five opponents crossed 24 points. Quentin Corpuel, Kansas City Star, 9 Oct. 2025 Ostranuats puts you at the helm of a ship crewed by a scrappy collection of the galaxy's cast-offs, salvaging parts and subsystems to fend off bankruptcy and keep your rustbucket afloat in the darkest corners of the universe. Alan Bradley, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2025 Bitfury faced its struggles, and Kikvadze had to make tough decisions to keep the company afloat. Lyssanoel Frater, USA Today, 6 Oct. 2025 But that wasn’t enough to keep Play afloat. Barbara Peterson, AFAR Media, 6 Oct. 2025 For the first half of her tenure, Engelbert seemed to enjoy a positive relationship with the players, securing major corporate partners, working with the union on a collective-bargaining agreement that looked historic at the time, keeping the league afloat during the COVID pandemic. Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2025 No one player will come close to replicating the impact of their ascending star receiver, so the Giants must hope a bunch of them step up to give Dart options and help the offense stay afloat throughout the remainder of the season. Charlotte Carroll, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Adverb
Many of his clients were small landlords—immigrant owners of two-family properties who relied on tenants to stay afloat. Eric Lach, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025 Squeezed by federal policy changes, local hospitals and service providers are shutting down services and laying off employees to stay afloat. Elizabeth B. Kim, Cincinnati Enquirer, 9 Oct. 2025 For entrepreneurs, surprises like this force constant adjustments just to stay afloat. Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025 Inside Venezuela, authorities have turned to heavier taxation and extortion of businesses to keep the state’s security apparatus afloat. Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025 Not long after, the district decided to essentially lend $25 million to the Isaac Elementary School District to help that district stay afloat, and then spent more than $15 million on new land. Alexandra Hardle, AZCentral.com, 30 Sep. 2025 Theater operators, who are struggling to stay afloat post-COVID, would be adamantly opposed to tariffs on tickets. Gene Maddaus, Variety, 29 Sep. 2025 Donations from colleagues and community members helped the family stay afloat. Sydney Barragan, Oc Register, 27 Sep. 2025 Instead, group homes that used that model would be forced to apply to the Minnesota Department of Human Services for behavioral health funding to stay afloat, and abide by an entirely different set of regulations and expectations. Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 23 Sep. 2025
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
  • 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
  • Blame the damp and moderate climate hereabouts or the particular ardor of the northern red-legged frog, but our target species is ready to hop anytime between early November and the middle of March.
    Murr Brewster, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Mar. 2024
Adverb
  • Towards clinical use The device has shown promising results in preclinical studies and has been patented both in Italy and abroad.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Detectorists has become so beloved, first in the UK and now abroad, but the general sense is the show is completely finished now after its specials [the most recent of which was in 2022].
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025
Adverb
  • Jason Kelce is out here doing the dirty work on behalf of Swifties everywhere.
    Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
  • While more testing is still ahead, the early data shows how robotics could make a lifesaving difference for patients everywhere.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Afloat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afloat. Accessed 12 Oct. 2025.

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