Floated Float Floating Gently Water I Music Move

• a group of swans floated by.
• the smell of new bread floated up from the kitchen.
• beautiful music came floating out of the window.
• the boats were floating gently down the river.

float

1. to move slowly on water or in the air
• synonym drift
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/drift_2
• A group of swans floated by.
• The smell of new bread floated up from the kitchen.
• Beautiful music came floating out of the window.
• The boats were floating gently down the river.
• An idea suddenly floated into my mind.
• People seem to float in and out of my life.
2. to stay on or near the surface of a liquid and not sink
• Wood floats.
• A plastic bag was floating in the water.
• Can you float on your back?
3. to make something move on or near the surface of a liquid
• There wasn't enough water to float the ship.
• They float the logs down the river to the towns.
4. to walk or move in a smooth and easy way
• synonym glide
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/glide_1
• She floated down the steps to greet us.
5. to suggest an idea or a plan for other people to consider
• They floated the idea of increased taxes on alcohol.
6. to sell shares in a company or business to the public for the first time
• See related entries: Economy
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/topic/economy/float_2
• The company was floated on the stock market in 2014.
• Shares were floated at 585p.
7. if a government floats its country’s money or allows it to float, it allows its value to change freely according to the value of the money of other countries
8. to be what somebody likes
• You can listen to whatever kind of music floats your boat.
9. to feel very happy
• See related entries: Happiness
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/topic/happiness/float_1
• Most couples feel they are walking on air on their wedding day.

Extra Examples

• A few small clouds floated across the sky.
• Her voice seemed to float gently on the water.
• Her voice seemed to float on the water as gently as a slight mist.
• In the dream my feet leave the ground and I start to float upwards.
• The government decided to allow the peso to float freely.
• chunks of ice floating down the river
• pieces of wood floating in the water
• I dreamt that I was floating over the city.
• She floated down the steps to meet us.
• The couple floated across the dance floor.
• Vast masses of frogspawn floated just beneath the surface.
• We tried to make a raft but it wouldn’t float.

Verb Forms

• present simple I / you / we / they float
• he / she / it floats
• past simple floated
• past participle floated
• -ing form floating

Word Origin

• Old English flotian (verb), of Germanic origin and related to fleet ‘move or pass quickly’, reinforced in Middle English by Old French floter, also from Germanic.