flotation

C2 Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /floʊˈteɪʃən/ UK /fləʊˈteɪʃən/ See IPA manual

Freq #52261

Meanings

1

noun
the act, process, or capacity of floating in a liquid or gas

Air chambers provide enough flotation to keep the raft above water.
2

noun
a separation process in which selected particles attach to bubbles and rise to the surface of a liquid

The mine uses froth flotation to separate valuable minerals from waste rock.
3

noun
the offering of a company's shares to the public for the first time

The company raised new capital through a stock-market flotation.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act, process, or... floating buoyancy

2 noun · a separation process in... froth flotationfloat separation

3 noun · the offering of a company's... public offeringstock launch

Opposites

sinkingsubmersion

Word family

Related forms float buoyant flotillainitial public offering

Common collocations

flotation device Noun + noun

Etymology

Formed from float + -ation in the early nineteenth century. Float came through Middle English floten from Old English flotian, 'to float.' The mineral-processing and stock-market senses both extend the idea of bringing something to the surface or launching it into circulation.

Topics

Cause, Change & Process

External links

# flotation

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /floʊˈteɪʃən/
**IPA (UK):** /fləʊˈteɪʃən/
**Frequency rank:** 52261

## Meanings
1. the act, process, or capacity of floating in a liquid or gas
2. a separation process in which selected particles attach to bubbles and rise to the surface of a liquid
3. the offering of a company's shares to the public for the first time

## Examples
- Air chambers provide enough flotation to keep the raft above water.
- The mine uses froth flotation to separate valuable minerals from waste rock.
- The company raised new capital through a stock-market flotation.

## Synonyms
- floating
- buoyancy
- froth flotation
- public offering

## Antonyms
- sinking
- submersion

## Related Forms
- float
- buoyant
- flotilla
- initial public offering

## Etymology
Formed from float + -ation in the early nineteenth century. Float came through Middle English floten from Old English flotian, 'to float.' The mineral-processing and stock-market senses both extend the idea of bringing something to the surface or launching it into circulation.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process

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