Afloat vs. Float — What's the Difference?

Floating on water.

Remain on the surface of a liquid.

Free from sinking or drowning.

Operate using float cash (financial).

Financially solvent.

Drift aimlessly.

In circulation.

Offer for public trading (financial).

Continuing to function.

Move with no clear direction.

In a floating position or condition.

To remain suspended within or on the surface of a fluid without sinking.

On a boat or ship away from the shore; at sea.

To be suspended in or move through space as if supported by a liquid.

In circulation; prevailing

To move from place to place, especially at random.

Awash; flooded.

To move easily or lightly

Drifting about; moving without guidance.

(Economics) To rise or fall freely in response to the market

Free or out of difficulty, especially financial difficulty

To cause to remain suspended without sinking or falling.

Floating.

To put into the water; launch

In a vessel at sea or on another body of water.

To start or establish (a business enterprise, for example).

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

To flood (land), as for irrigation.

Covered with water (bearing floating objects).

(Economics) To allow (the exchange value of a currency, for example) to rise or fall freely in response to the market

(figurative) Covered, overspread (with or in something).

To offer for consideration; suggest

(of an organization) Having enough money to continue to operate; (of a private individual, family, etc.) able to pay one's expenses, able to keep one's head above water.

To release (a security) for sale.

Being believed or discussed by many people; being passed from person to person.

To arrange for (a loan).

Stimulated, aroused.

To make the surface of (plaster, for example) level or smooth.

(obsolete) In a state of confusion or bewilderment.

(Computers) To convert (data) from fixed-point notation to floating-point notation.

(obsolete) Floating on.

A raft.

Borne on the water; floating; on board ship.

A buoy.

Moving; passing from place to place; in general circulation; as, a rumor is afloat.

A life preserver.

Unfixed; moving without guide or control; adrift; as, our affairs are all afloat.

A buoyant object, such as a piece of cork or a plastic ball, used to hold a net or part of a fishing line afloat.

Covered with water bearing floating articles; flooded; as, the decks are afloat.

A landing platform attached to a wharf and floating on the water.

Aimlessly drifting

A floating ball attached to a lever to regulate the water level in a tank.

Under water; e.g. at the bottom of a body of water;

(Biology) An air-filled sac or structure that aids in the flotation of an aquatic organism. Also called air bladder, air vesicle.

Covered with water;

A decorated exhibit or scene mounted on a mobile platform and pulled or driven in a parade.

The number of shares of a security that are publicly owned and traded.

A sum of money representing checks that are outstanding.

The time between the issuing or depositing of a check and the debiting of the issuer's account.

The time during which a credit card purchase can be repaid without interest.

A tool for smoothing the surface of wet plaster or concrete.

A file with sharp ridges used for cutting or smoothing wood.

A soft drink with ice cream floating in it.

Excess time allowed for a task in a project schedule.

To be supported by a fluid of greater density (than the object).

To be supported by a liquid of greater density, such that part (of the object or substance) remains above the surface.

(transitive) To cause something to be suspended in a liquid of greater density.

(intransitive) To be capable of floating.

(intransitive) To move in a particular direction with the liquid in which one is floating.

(intransitive) To drift or wander aimlessly.

(intransitive) To drift gently through the air.

(intransitive) To move in a fluid manner.

To circulate.

(aviation) To remain airborne, without touching down, for an excessive length of time during landing, due to excessive airspeed during the landing flare.

(of an idea or scheme) To be viable.

(transitive) To propose (an idea) for consideration.

(intransitive) To automatically adjust a parameter as related parameters change.

(of currencies) To have an exchange value determined by the markets, as opposed to by central fiat.

To allow (the exchange value of a currency) to be determined by the markets.

To extend a short-term loan to.

To issue or sell shares in a company (or units in a trust) to members of the public, followed by listing on a stock exchange.

(transitive) To spread plaster over (a surface), using the tool called a float.

(transitive) To use a float (rasp-like tool) upon.

(transitive) To transport by float (vehicular trailer).

(poker) To perform a float.

To cause (an element within a document) to float above or beside others.

A buoyant device used to support something in water or another liquid.

A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft.

A float board.

A tool similar to a rasp, used in various trades.

A sort of trowel used for finishing concrete surfaces or smoothing plaster.

An elaborately decorated trailer or vehicle, intended for display in a parade or pageant.

A floating toy made of foam, used in swimming pools.

(British) A small vehicle used for local deliveries, especially in the term milk float.

(finance) Funds committed to be paid but not yet paid.

An offering of shares in a company (or units in a trust) to members of the public, normally followed by a listing on a stock exchange.

(banking) The total amount of checks/cheques or other drafts written against a bank account but not yet cleared and charged against the account.

(insurance) Premiums taken in but not yet paid out.

(programming) A floating-point number, especially one that has lower precision than a double.

A soft beverage with a scoop of ice-cream floating in it.

A small sum of money put in a cashier's till, or otherwise secured, at the start of business, to enable change to be made.

(poker) A maneuver where a player calls on the flop or turn with a weak hand, with the intention of bluffing after a subsequent community card.

(knitting) One of the loose ends of yarn on an unfinished work.

(automotive) A car carrier or car transporter truck or truck-and-trailer combination.

(transport) A lowboy trailer.

(obsolete) The act of flowing; flux; flow.

A polishing block used in marble working; a runner.

A coal cart.

A breakdancing move in which the body is held parallel to the floor while balancing on one or both hands.

(computing) A visual style on a web page that causes the styled elements to float above or beside others.

(biology) The gas-filled sac, bag, or body of a siphonophore; a pneumatophore.

Any object (element) whose location in composition (page makeup, pagination) does not flow within body text but rather floats outside of it, usually anchored loosely (in buoy metaphor) to spots within it (citations, callouts): a figure (image), table, box, pull quote, ornament, or other float element.

Anything which floats or rests on the surface of a fluid, as to sustain weight, or to indicate the height of the liquid surface, or mark the place of, something.

A float board. See Float board (below).

A contrivance for affording a copious stream of water to the heated surface of an object of large bulk, as an anvil or die.

The act of flowing; flux; flow.

A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep.

The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed.

A polishing block used in marble working; a runner.

A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe.

A coal cart.

The free use of money for a time between occurrence of a transaction (such as depositing a check or a purchase made using a credit card), and the time when funds are withdrawn to cover the transaction; also, the money made available between transactions in that manner.

A vehicle on which an exhibit or display is mounted, driven or pulled as part of a parade. The float often is based on a large flat platform, and may contain a very elaborate structure with a tableau or people.

To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up.

To move quietly or gently on the water, as a raft; to drift along; to move or glide without effort or impulse on the surface of a fluid, or through the air.

To cause to float; to cause to rest or move on the surface of a fluid; as, the tide floated the ship into the harbor.

To flood; to overflow; to cover with water.

To pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet.

To support and sustain the credit of, as a commercial scheme or a joint-stock company, so as to enable it to go into, or continue in, operation.

The time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment

The number of shares outstanding and available for trading by the public

A drink with ice cream floating in it

An elaborate display mounted on a platform carried by a truck (or pulled by a truck) in a procession or parade

A hand tool with a flat face used for smoothing and finishing the surface of plaster or cement or stucco

Something that remains on the surface of a liquid

Be in motion due to some air or water current;

Be afloat; stay on a liquid surface; not sink

Set afloat;

Circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with;

Move lightly, as if suspended;

Put into the water;

Make the surface of level or smooth;

Allow (currencies) to fluctuate;

Convert from a fixed point notation to a floating point notation;

Not necessarily. It can also refer to drifting in air or moving without a fixed direction.

Yes, it can refer to shares offered publicly or available cash balances used in transactions.

Yes, "float" can refer to a parade structure or the cash balance used in financial operations.

No, "afloat" is primarily an adjective or adverb, describing a state of floating.

No, "float" is the action or ability, while "afloat" describes the state of remaining above water.

Yes, it describes solvency or the ability to maintain operations.

No, it can also be used metaphorically to mean financially solvent or continuing to function.

No, both use "float" similarly in financial, nautical, and drifting contexts.

Generally, yes, if they remain buoyant and are not sinking.

Yes, the term "floating" applies to companies offering shares for public trading.

Yes, as long as the object is not fully sunk.

Not typically. It's mostly used in physical or financial contexts.

No, it also applies to abstract concepts like financial shares or ideas.

Balloons "float" due to their buoyant gas but are not "afloat" since they aren’t on water.

In banking, "float" can refer to cash balances used to cover transactions.