float
verbVerb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they float | |
| he / she / it floats | |
| past simple floated | |
| past participle floated | |
| -ing form floating |
- [intransitive] + adv./prep.
to move slowly on water or in the air 浮动；漂流；飘动；飘移 A group of swans floated by. 一群天鹅缓缓游过。 The smell of new bread floated up from the kitchen. 厨房里飘出新鲜面包的香味。 Beautiful music came floating out of the window. 美妙的乐声从窗口传出。 The boats were floating gently down the river. 小船顺河悠悠漂下。 Add the gnocchi and cook until they float to the surface. 加入汤团，煮到它们浮到表面。 - (figurative)
People seem to float in and out of my life. 不同的人在我的生命中出现和消失。
Extra ExamplesTopics Transport by waterb2Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- gently
- slowly
- downstream
- …
- seem to
- across
- down
- in
- …
- [intransitive]
to stay on or near the surface of a liquid and not sink 浮；漂浮 Wood floats. 木头能浮起来。 Much of the bay is covered by floating sea ice. 海湾的大部分被漂浮的海冰覆盖着。 - float in something
She relaxed, floating gently in the water. 她全身放松, 轻轻漂浮在水中。 - float on something
A plastic bag was floating on the water. 一个塑料袋漂浮在水面上。
Extra ExamplesTopics Transport by waterb2We tried to make a raft but it wouldn't float. 我们设法做了一只筏子，但它浮不起来。 Vast masses of frogspawn floated just beneath the surface. 大量的蛙卵漂浮在水面下。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- gently
- slowly
- downstream
- …
- seem to
- across
- down
- in
- …
- [transitive]
to make something move on or near the surface of a liquid 使浮动；使漂流 - float something
There wasn't enough water to float the ship. 水不够深，船浮动不起来。 - float something + adv./prep.
They float the logs down the river to the towns. 他们把原木沿河漂运至城镇。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- gently
- slowly
- downstream
- …
- seem to
- across
- down
- in
- …
- float something
- [intransitive] + adv./prep. (literary)
to walk or move in a smooth and easy way 轻盈走动；飘然移动 - [transitive] float something
to suggest an idea or a plan for other people to consider 提出，提请考虑（想法或计划） - [transitive] float something (
business 商业 to sell shares in a company or business to the public for the first time （公司或企业）首次公开发行（股票），使上市 The company was floated on the stock market in 2014. 这家公司于 2014 年上市。 Shares were floated at 585p. 股票最初上市价为 5 英镑 85 便士。
- [transitive, intransitive] float (something) (
economics 经济学 if a government floats its country’s money or allows it to float, it allows its value to change freely according to the value of the money of other countries （使货币汇率）自由浮动 The government decided to allow the peso to float freely. 政府决定让比索自由浮动。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- freely
- allow something to
on water/in air水上；空中
walk lightly飘然走动
suggest idea提出想法
business/economics商业；经济学
Word OriginOld English flotian (verb), of Germanic origin and related to fleet ‘move or pass quickly’, reinforced in Middle English by Old French floter, also from Germanic.
Idioms
float somebody’s boat
float/walk on air
to feel very happy 欢天喜地；得意扬扬 Most couples feel they are walking on air on their wedding day. 大多数夫妇觉得他们在结婚那天是在空中漫步。