Word.ws English Dictionary

Past tense of float

regular verb

The past tense of float is floated. The past participle is also floated.

Forms of float

Base form (V1)float /fləʊt/
Past tense (V2)floated /ˈfləʊtɪd/
Past participle (V3)floated /ˈfləʊtɪd/
Present participlefloating /ˈfloʊtɪŋ/
Third person singularfloats

Floated in a sentence

  • The boat floated on the water.
  • The oil floated on the vinegar.
  • Grounds are usually put up first and the plastering floated flush with them.From the entry ground
  • The balloon floated up into the blue.From the entry blue
  • Ashes from the fire floated over the street.From the entry ash

Meaning of float

  1. verb To be supported by a fluid of greater density (than the object).
  2. verb To be supported by a liquid of greater density, such that part (of the object or substance) remains above the surface.
  3. verb To cause something to be suspended in a fluid of greater density.

Full definition of float

Questions about the past tense of float

What is the past tense of float?
The past tense of float is floated.
What is the past participle of float?
The past participle of float is floated.
Is float a regular or irregular verb?
Float is a regular verb: its past tense adds -ed.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: float (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this page: “Past tense of float.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/past-tense/float. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.