flotation
flotation Lexical Profile
flotation Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The action, state, or capacity of floating in a liquid or gas.
"Every passenger on the boat is required to wear a personal flotation device while out on the water."
The process of converting a private company into a public company by issuing shares on a stock exchange for the first time.
"The technology startup raised over two hundred million dollars during its successful stock market flotation."
An industrial process for separating mixtures of finely ground minerals or materials based on their differing abilities to float in a liquid or froth.
"The mining facility uses froth flotation to separate valuable copper sulfide minerals from waste rock."
Word Nuance & Usage
Although derived from the verb 'float', 'flotation' (without an 'a') is the dominant standard spelling in both American and British English, though 'floatation' is an accepted variant.
• Rhymes for flotation
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the early 19th century from the English verb 'float' (from Old English 'flotian') and the noun-forming suffix '-ation', influenced by French 'flottaison'.