floated

past tense of float
1
as in hovered
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

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 floated Emerson’s single that floated just above the outstretched glove of Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel drove in the first two. Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026 Muhammad floated a 155-pound matchup with Rafael Fiziev, fresh off his Baku knockout win. Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026 The agency also floated the possibility of repurposing a Mars rover, nicknamed Promise, for use on the moon. Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 30 June 2026 Another option, sources told Semafor, is for the US to take equity stakes in AI firms, an idea Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly floated. Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 30 June 2026 Onscreen, his hands floated slowly across a sheet of paper, an entranced expression on his face. Thessaly La Force, New Yorker, 29 June 2026 Maybe that’s when my misconceptions about the Cape Cod Bay side of the Cape floated away. Beth Luberecki, USA Today, 23 June 2026 The repairs only seem to have made things worse as the new paint started peeling in large chunks that floated to the top. Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 22 June 2026 The idea was first floated by UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy last September at the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention. Jake Kanter, Deadline, 22 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for floated
Verb
  • Off-pitch issues hovered over the tournament, but the football has delivered.
    Sukhman Singh, New York Times, 29 June 2026
  • The lowest get-in prices hovered around $3,500 early Saturday on Friday.
    ABC News, ABC News, 27 June 2026
Verb
  • The 1,200-pound giraffe, named Gracie, wandered away from her unfenced habitat at Cedar Hollow Ranch in Leakey, Texas, on June 12.
    Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 27 June 2026
  • At the time, the ranch said the giraffe had likely slipped through an enclosure gate and wandered into surrounding private ranchland.
    Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
Verb
  • Gwinnett was an English clergymen’s son who sailed for the colonies in 1762 and opened a general store in Savannah in 1765.
    Adam Van Brimmer, AJC.com, 30 June 2026
  • Most of the crew members had sailed together for years, spending as much time on board as at home; several were related.
    Will Freeman, New Yorker, 30 June 2026
Verb
  • With far less hair, Ella’s green eyes seemed greener, like those of the feral black cats that roamed their hamlet, meowing for table scraps, which were often given without hesitation.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 June 2026
  • Mesalands Dinosaur Museum in Tucumcari, New Mexico Part of Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari, New Mexico, the Dinosaur Museum and Natural Science Laboratory offers a look at the mighty creatures that once roamed the area during the Mesozoic era.
    Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 18 June 2026
Verb
  • And none of us have swam in the ocean the same way since!
    Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 20 June 2026
  • His father, John, swam for the Spartans.
    Paul Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2026
Verb
  • The fire and resultant smoke that drifted across the city prompted Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to declare a state of emergency in the Boyle Heights neighborhood on Saturday, unlocking state resources to tackle it.
    Josh Boswell, CBS News, 26 June 2026
  • Piano jazz drifted among the grape vines, hedgerows, and bright-pink mandevilla.
    Reeves Wiedeman, Curbed, 22 June 2026
Verb
  • To my surprise, Conway showed up, walking Clyde; Bores strolled past me in a dark suit.
    Naaman Zhou, New Yorker, 22 June 2026
  • Others strolled barefoot through the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, named after a courageous man who fought for freedom, not for presidents.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 17 June 2026
Verb
  • The Yankees’ blossoming prospect, pitching for the RailRiders and against Worcester at Triple-A, cruised for six scoreless innings in his penultimate minor league start.
    Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 26 June 2026
  • Brazil cruised past Scotland in a dominant victory in Miami.
    Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 25 June 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Floated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/floated. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on floated

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster