To float means to rest on top of water or another liquid without sinking. When you lie on your back in a swimming pool and relax your body, you float because your body is less dense than the water beneath you. A beach ball floats because it's filled with air. Ships made of heavy steel can float because their hulls are shaped to displace enough water to keep them on the surface.

The word also describes drifting gently through air or moving smoothly along. A balloon floats up toward the ceiling, and dandelion seeds float on the breeze. You might watch clouds floating across the sky on a lazy afternoon. When someone describes an idea as floating around, they mean it's being discussed casually without any firm decisions yet.

In another sense, float can mean something that moves freely within limits. Companies float their stock when they first sell shares to the public. Some countries let their currency float, meaning its value can rise or fall based on what people are willing to pay for it. And when you float an idea to your friends, you're testing it out gently to see how they react before committing to it fully.