free-floating

adjective

free-float·​ing ˈfrē-ˈflō-tiŋ How to pronounce free-floating (audio)
1
a
: floating freely
free-floating vegetation
b
: lacking specific attachment, direction, or purpose
free-floating ideas
2
: felt as an emotion without apparent cause
free-floating anxiety

Examples of free-floating in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
That Jia could make anything out of that flotsam and jetsam is astonishing, but his ability to not only recreate those time frames but craft all of it into a woozy, free-floating memory piece is miraculous. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2025 That is the type of depression that arises—sometimes quite rationally—from a current set of problems or circumstances, and is different from endogenous, or persistent, free-floating depression. Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 29 Apr. 2025 That includes a demonstration of refined maneuvers for free-floating robots, an enhanced air quality monitoring system that could be used for missions to the moon and Mars, and two atomic clocks. Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2025 While major currencies like the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen have a free-floating exchange rate, China tightly regulates the value of the yuan within its domestic market. Lee Ying Shan,asriel Chua, CNBC, 11 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for free-floating

Word History

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of free-floating was in 1815

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Cite this Entry

“Free-floating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free-floating. Accessed 20 May. 2025.

Medical Definition

free-floating

adjective
free-float·​ing ˈfrē-ˈflōt-iŋ How to pronounce free-floating (audio)
: felt as an emotion without apparent cause
free-floating anxiety

More from Merriam-Webster on free-floating

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