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.
But scientists are finding that our bodies are also home to exquisitely tiny rings of free-floating RNA. Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025 Such free-floating opportunities for reinvention are perhaps a defining experience of modernity. Jen Rose Smith, AFAR Media, 18 Feb. 2025 Sears even patented a specialized workstation to capture crumbs, which otherwise become free-floating particles in space that pose an aspiration threat and can ruin sensitive equipment. Sarah Miller, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2025 The rope that the fishermen severed was free-floating — as is common with creel gear. Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 12 Feb. 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Free-floating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free-floating. Accessed 9 Mar. 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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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