anything which floats or rests on the surface of a fluid, as to sustain weight, or to indicate the height of the surface, or mark the place of, something.-a mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft.-the hollow, metallic ball of a self-acting faucet, which floats upon the water in a cistern or boiler.-the cork or quill used in angling, to support the bait line, and indicate the bite of a fish.-anything used to buoy up whatever is liable to sink; an inflated bag or pillow used by persons learning to swim; a life preserver.-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 sea; a wave. see flote, n.-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.