afloat


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a·float

 (ə-flōt′)
adv. & adj.
1. In a floating position or condition.
2. On a boat or ship away from the shore; at sea.
3. In circulation; prevailing: Rumors are afloat.
4. Awash; flooded.
5. Drifting about; moving without guidance.
6. Free or out of difficulty, especially financial difficulty: couldn't keep the business afloat.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

afloat

(əˈfləʊt)
adj, adv (postpositive)
1. floating
2. aboard ship; at sea
3. covered with water; flooded
4. aimlessly drifting: afloat in a sea of indecision.
5. in circulation; afoot: nasty rumours were afloat.
6. free of debt; solvent
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

a•float

(əˈfloʊt)

adv., adj.
1. floating on the water.
2. on board a ship; at sea.
3. covered with water; flooded: The main deck was afloat.
4. drifting; adrift.
5. circulating; in circulation.
6. financially solvent.
[before 1000; Middle English, Old English on flote. See a-1, float]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

afloat

If someone or something is afloat, they are floating on water rather than sinking.

By kicking constantly he could stay afloat.
Her hooped skirt kept her afloat and saved her.

Be Careful!
You do not use 'afloat' in front of a noun.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.afloat - aimlessly driftingafloat - aimlessly drifting      
purposeless - not evidencing any purpose or goal
2.afloat - borne on the waterafloat - borne on the water; floating  
aground - stuck in a place where a ship can no longer float; "a ship aground offshore"; "a boat aground on the beach waiting for the tide to lift it"
3.afloat - covered with waterafloat - covered with water; "the main deck was afloat (or awash)"; "the monsoon left the whole place awash"; "a flooded bathroom"; "inundated farmlands"; "an overflowing tub"
full - containing as much or as many as is possible or normal; "a full glass"; "a sky full of stars"; "a full life"; "the auditorium was full to overflowing"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

afloat

adjective
1. floating, on the surface, buoyant, keeping your head above water, unsubmerged Three hours is a long time to try and stay afloat.
floating submerged, immersed, sunken, capsized, under water
2. solvent, in business, above water Efforts were being made to keep the company afloat.
solvent bust (informal), bankrupt, out of business, insolvent, in receivership
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
طَافِ عَلَى سَطْحِ المَاء، عَائِم
na voděplovoucí
flydende
vízen
á floti, fljótandi
plaukiantis
dabūt laivu nost no sēkļapeldošs
na vode
yüzer durumda

afloat

[əˈfləʊt] ADJa flote
the oldest ship afloatel barco más viejo que sigue a flote
by a miracle we were still afloatquedamos a flote de milagro
the largest navy afloatla mayor marina del mundo
to spend one's life afloatpasar toda la vida a bordo
to keep sth afloat (lit, fig) → mantener algo a flote
to stay or keep afloat (lit, fig) → mantenerse a flote
to get a business afloatlanzar un negocio
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

afloat

[əˈfləʊt]
adjà flot
adv
(on water) to stay afloat → rester à la surface, surnager
to keep sth afloat → maintenir qch à flot
(= solvent) to keep sth afloat [+ business] → maintenir qch à flot
to stay afloat [company] → se maintenir à flot
They are borrowing money just to stay afloat → Ils empruntent de l'argent pour se maintenir à flot.
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

afloat

adj pred, adv
(Naut) to be afloatschwimmen; to stay afloatsich über Wasser halten; (thing)schwimmen, nicht untergehen; to set a ship afloatein Schiff zu Wasser lassen; at last we were afloat againendlich waren wir wieder flott; cargo afloatschwimmende Ladung; the largest navy afloatdie größte Flotte auf See; service afloatDienst mauf See; to serve afloatauf See dienen
(= awash)überschwemmt, unter Wasser; to be afloatunter Wasser stehen, überschwemmt sein
(fig) to get/keep a business afloatein Geschäft ntauf die Beine stellen/über Wasser halten; those who stayed afloat during the slumpdie, die sich auch während der Krise über Wasser gehalten haben
(fig: rumour etc) there is a rumour afloat that …es geht das Gerücht um, dass …
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

afloat

[əˈfləʊt] adv & adja galla
to keep afloat (also fig) → rimanere a galla
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

afloat

(əˈfləut) adjective
floating. We've got the boat afloat at last.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
277 D: The poet of the "War of the Titans", whether Eumelus of Corinth or Arctinus, writes thus in his second book: `Upon the shield were dumb fish afloat, with golden faces, swimming and sporting through the heavenly water.'
In all the devious tracings the course of a sailing-ship leaves upon the white paper of a chart she is always aiming for that one little spot - maybe a small island in the ocean, a single headland upon the long coast of a continent, a lighthouse on a bluff, or simply the peaked form of a mountain like an ant-heap afloat upon the waters.
Hiding his canoe, still afloat, among these thickets, with its prow seaward, he sat down in the stern, paddle low in hand; and when the ship was gliding by, like a flash he darted out; gained her side; with one backward dash of his foot capsized and sank his canoe; climbed up the chains; and throwing himself at full length upon the deck, grappled a ringbolt there, and swore not to let it go, though hacked in pieces.
Stunned by that loud and dreadful sound, Which sky and ocean smote, Like one that hath been seven days drowned My body lay afloat; But swift as dreams, myself I found Within the Pilot's boat.
I have had controversies about it with experienced whalemen afloat, and learned naturalists ashore.
Burges, Duer and Mackenzie, 1843; The French Governess; or, The Embroidered Handkerchief, 1843; Richard Dale, 1843; Wyandotte, 1843; Ned Myers, or Life before the Mast, 1843; Afloat and Ashore (Miles Wallingford, Lucy Hardinge), two series, 1844; Proceedings of the Naval Court-Martial in the Case of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, etc., 1844; Santanstoe, 1845; The Chainbearer, 1846; Lives of Distinguished American Naval Officers,
Had it not been my custom to run up to see him every Saturday afternoon and to stop over till Monday morning, this particular January Monday morning would not have found me afloat on San Francisco Bay.
Not but that I was afloat in a safe craft, for the Martinez was a new ferry-steamer, making her fourth or fifth trip on the run between Sausalito and San Francisco.
He accepts, and the pleasant talk and the beer flow for an hour or two, and by and by the professor, properly charged and comfortable, gives a cordial good night, while the students stand bowing and uncovered; and then he moves on his happy way homeward with all his vast cargo of learning afloat in his hold.
I myself went down with the rest, but had the good fortune to rise unhurt, and by holding on to a piece of driftwood with one hand and swimming with the other I kept myself afloat and was presently washed up by the tide on to an island.
Without supposing the personal essentiality of the man, it is evident that a change of the chief magistrate, at the breaking out of a war, or at any similar crisis, for another, even of equal merit, would at all times be detrimental to the community, inasmuch as it would substitute inexperience to experience, and would tend to unhinge and set afloat the already settled train of the administration.
The team developed the afloat adjacency model in which "locations" were identified for each class so that they put like stuff with other like stuff.