Meanings
nounfree float (plural free floats)
plural free floats
- An estimate of the proportion of shares of a public company that are not held by large owners and that are not stock with sales restrictions.
- A floating rate of exchange rate under which the currency's value is allowed to fluctuate in response to foreign-exchange market mechanisms without government intervention.
Synonyms: clean float
verbfree float (third-person singular simple present free floats, present participle free floating, simple past and past participle free floated)
present singular third person free floats · participle present free floating · participle past free floated · past free floated
- engineeringto alter a firearm so that no part of the barrel touches the stock.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA floating rate of exchange rate under which the currency's value is allowed to fluctuate in response to foreign-exchange market mechanisms without government intervention.
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Also see
Translations
French flottant
- flottantshares of a public company that are not held by large owners
German Streubesitz
- Streubesitzshares of a public company that are not held by large owners
Spanish capital flotante
- capital flotanteshares of a public company that are not held by large owners
Cite this entry
APA
free float. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/free%20float
MLA
“free float.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/free%20float. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “free float,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/free%20float.
Source: free float on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.