floating 1 of 2

adjective

ˈflō-tiŋ How to pronounce floating (audio)
Definition of floatingnext
as in afloat
riding upon the surface of a body of liquid the wreckage remained floating for hours

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

floating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of float
1
as in hovering
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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wandering
to move about from place to place aimlessly lost touch with a childhood friend who spent much of his adult life floating from place to place

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 floating
Adjective
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 The boat, a single motorboat, was found floating and half-submerged near the Harbor One Marina. — Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 3 Sep. 2024
Verb
The Financial Times was first to report that investors were floating the $2 trillion expectation. — Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 13 Aug. 2026 Seriously, how many different conspiracy theories are floating out there about this team right now? — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for floating
Recent Examples of Synonyms for floating
  1. afloat
  2. hovering
  3. wandering
  4. sailing
  5. roaming
  6. swimming
  7. drifting
  8. cruising
Adjective
  • Yet many of them are stuck on an exhausting financial hamster wheel, continually grinding to stay afloat.
    — Justin Donald, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Like other groups cut off from funds, Estrella del Paso has patched together philanthropy and reserves in an attempt to stay afloat.
    — Sarah Matusek, Christian Science Monitor, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of afloat
Verb
  • No one will string the words together and actually say it out loud, but as former players and Campbell tap-dance around the uncomfortable question about what’s changed, the message hovering between the lines is not difficult to read.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Average costs for the potassium-rich fruit have seen little change as of late, hovering between 65 and 67 cents over the last 12 months.
    — Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of hovering
Verb
  • Mornings can easily be filled wandering the grounds, and afternoons could disappear beside one of the two pools or beneath an olive tree with a good book.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Trump's quick save for wandering toddler sets up a Biden joke that steals the show.
    — , FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of wandering
Verb
  • Would Alejandro González Iñárritu’s breathlessly awaited, Tom Cruise vehicle Digger be sailing to the Lido?
    — Radhika Seth, Vogue, 9 Aug. 2026
  • While Homer followed warriors sailing home from Troy, the playwright Euripides — writing some three centuries later — turned to the city’s ruins and its women, forced into exile and enslavement.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of sailing
Verb
  • Some of them, like the one I got stranded on, were full of green rolling hills, tall grasses that rustled in the wind, and wild goats and deer roaming free.
    — Annie Daly, Vogue, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Rameez Ansar, Group CEO of Circles, which operates Jetpac Travel eSIM that reinvents roaming with global access, lower costs & smoother UX.
    — Rameez Ansar, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of roaming
Verb
  • With the incident over the weekend, a bystander reported seeing the lifeguard’s rescue torpedo come about 6 to 8 feet out of the water, shortly after the lifeguard had begun swimming back toward shore.
    — Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 10 Aug. 2026
  • In Maryland, where over two dozen cases have been confirmed so far this year, health officials warned people to be cautious about swimming in Chesapeake Bay.
    — Mark Strassmann, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of swimming
Verb
  • Satellite imagery shows a haze of wildfire smoke drifting from West Kalimantan into neighboring Malaysia on several days this month, according to BNPB.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • On Tuesday the Bay Area Air District issued an air quality advisory for Tuesday and Wednesday due to smoke from the Timber Fire drifting into the region.
    — Tim Fang, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of drifting
Verb
  • Blakely left her floor error behind her on vault, cruising through her easy Lopez vault.
    — Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026
  • The Caribbean is a region almost purpose-built for cruising—closely set islands that offer immense diversity in culture and history, each with their own siren lure.
    — Scott Laird, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of cruising

Browse Nearby Words

floated
floating
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Cite this Entry

“Floating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/floating. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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