floater

noun

float·​er ˈflō-tər 

1

a

: one that floats

b

: a person who floats something

2

: a person who votes illegally in various polling places

3

a

: a person without a permanent residence or regular employment

b

: a worker who moves from job to job

especially : one without fixed duties

4

: a pitched, thrown, or hit ball that moves through the air relatively slowly with little or no spin or rotation

5

: a policy insuring specific items of personal property (such as jewelry or art)

6

: a bit of optical debris (such as a dead cell or cell fragment) in the vitreous humor or lens that may be perceived as a spot before the eye

also : a spot in the visual field due to such debris

—usually used in plural

7

US : floating holiday

Examples of floater in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Then a floater from two-time All-Star Jalen Brunson; Knicks down 98-95. —Fred Katz, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2025

Even when Haliburton does get to the rim, the Bucks can live with a contested floater over the outstretched arms of Antetokounmpo or Lopez. —Brian Sampson, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025

With less than 2:40 to play, UCI’s Tillis collected a teammate’s errant floater for a second-chance layup and a 59-57 lead. —Israel Schuman, Oc Register, 3 Apr. 2025

An 8-2 run punctuated by a floater from Matthew Webber in the lane has whittled the Colorado Academy lead down to 35-30 with three minutes left in the third quarter. —Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 14 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1717, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for floater

• boater
• motor
• rotor
• voter
• locomotor
• psychomotor
• servomotor
• vasomotor
• oculomotor
• sensorimotor
• premotor
• promoter

Medical Definition

floater

noun

float·​er ˈflōt-ər 

: a bit of optical debris (as a dead cell or cell fragment) in the vitreous body or lens that may be perceived as a spot before the eye

also : a spot in the visual field due to such debris

—usually used in plural compare muscae volitantes

Legal Definition

floater

noun

float·​er

1

[from the notion that the policy “floats” with the goods it insures, wherever they might be located] : a policy or supplemental attachment to a policy insuring specific items of personal property (as jewelry or art)

specifically : a policy of insurance to protect against loss or damage of goods in transit or goods (as jewels) naturally subject to use in various places

called also floating policy

2

: a debt security that yields an indexed variable rate of interest

especially : floating rate note at note