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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

afloat.

In or into a state of floating.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adv/əˈfloʊt/General-American/əˈfləʊt/Received-Pronunciation
  1. In or into a state of floating.

    not-comparable
  2. In, or while in, a vessel at sea or on another body of water; at sea.

    not-comparable
  3. Under water (bearing floating objects).

    not-comparable
  4. In or into circulation or currency.

    figuratively · not-comparable · usually
  5. In or into a condition of stimulation, arousal, confusion, bewilderment, etc.

    figuratively · not-comparable · obsolete
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Hellenic *ə- Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-)der. English a- English float English afloat From a- + float.

adj/əˈfloʊt/General-American/əˈfləʊt/Received-Pronunciation
  1. Floating.

    not-comparable
    A rubber duck and other toys were afloat in the bath.
  2. In, or found while in, a vessel at sea or on another body of water.

    not-comparable
  3. Floating in the air; flowing freely; not tied, braided, etc. (of hair or clothing)

    not-comparable
  4. Covered with water, bearing floating objects.

    not-comparable
    The decks are afloat.
  5. Covered, overspread, filled (with or in something).

    figuratively · not-comparable
  6. Having just enough resources to continue to operate; barely able to pay expenses; (of a private individual, family, etc.) keeping one's head above water.

    not-comparable
    The donation will keep our business afloat for quite a while.
  7. Believed or talked about by many people; being passed from person to person.

    figuratively · not-comparable · usually
    The supervisor was never fired, though countless accusations of dishonesty were afloat.
  8. Stimulated, aroused, activated.

    figuratively · not-comparable · obsolete
  9. In a state of confusion, bewilderment, or distraction.

    figuratively · not-comparable · obsolete
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Hellenic *ə- Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-)der. English a- English float English afloat From a- + float.

prep/əˈfloʊt/General-American/əˈfləʊt/Received-Pronunciation
  1. Floating upon.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Hellenic *ə- Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-)der. English a- English float English afloat From a- + float.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.