as in floating
riding upon the surface of a body of liquid
the boat can't stay afloat much longer
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as in abroad
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Recent Examples of afloat
Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
The acquisition is a boon for the small startup, which has subsisted on $60 million over the last five years and previously struggled to stay afloat.
—Elaine Chen, STAT, 24 Apr. 2026
At the same time, the hybrid vehicle market is staying afloat.
—Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 23 Apr. 2026
To keep the economy afloat, both public institutions and private banks have had to operate under extreme pressure.
—Nataliya Gumenyuk, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026
After six brutal years of struggling to stay afloat, movie theater owners and operators arrived in Las Vegas for CinemaCon finally liking their odds of survival.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 21 Apr. 2026
But there are few alternatives when survival is at stake — and especially when a child’s labor becomes necessary to keep a family afloat.
—CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2026
But the five-year program is aimed at exploring new, creative ways to improve rural health, not to help existing services stay afloat.
—Arielle Zionts, NPR, 15 Apr. 2026
That can result in a much lower page rank in search, which is a problem for sites that have traditionally relied on search traffic to stay afloat.
—ArsTechnica, 14 Apr. 2026
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 26 Apr. 2026
The 20-year-old guard pushed the pace, got to the foul line (5 of 6 in the third quarter) and helped keep the Spurs’ offense afloat throughout dry spells.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 25 Apr. 2026
West Ham are simply trying to stay afloat in 17th place, just two points above the relegation zone.
—Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Team founder Art Rooney turned a horse race bet into big winnings — enough to keep the football team afloat financially.
—Ayana Archie, NPR, 24 Apr. 2026
Such a move could fundamentally reshape competition across the airline industry, particularly for carriers that have managed to stay afloat without government support.
—Allie Canal, NBC news, 23 Apr. 2026
Spirit previously tried to find a merger partner to stay afloat – first Frontier, which was then outbid by JetBlue in 2022.
—Donald Judd, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2026
Smaller newspapers in particular rely heavily on the notices to stay afloat financially.
—Corey Hutchins, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Apr. 2026
Smart returned for the final two games, dishing out 17 assists while the Lakers tried to keep their offense afloat without Doncic and Reaves.
—Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
But in a statement, OCPS said the increases are the only way to stay afloat.
—Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
The acquisition is a boon for the small startup, which has subsisted on $60 million over the last five years and previously struggled to stay afloat.
—Elaine Chen, STAT, 24 Apr. 2026
At the same time, the hybrid vehicle market is staying afloat.
—Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 23 Apr. 2026
To keep the economy afloat, both public institutions and private banks have had to operate under extreme pressure.
—Nataliya Gumenyuk, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026
After six brutal years of struggling to stay afloat, movie theater owners and operators arrived in Las Vegas for CinemaCon finally liking their odds of survival.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 21 Apr. 2026
But there are few alternatives when survival is at stake — and especially when a child’s labor becomes necessary to keep a family afloat.
—CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2026
But the five-year program is aimed at exploring new, creative ways to improve rural health, not to help existing services stay afloat.
—Arielle Zionts, NPR, 15 Apr. 2026
That can result in a much lower page rank in search, which is a problem for sites that have traditionally relied on search traffic to stay afloat.
—ArsTechnica, 14 Apr. 2026
Adverb
Now, in return for the $300 million investment that will keep Hypergnosis afloat, Carl expects immediate benefits from Duncan’s nefarious data-collection operation.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 26 Apr. 2026
The 20-year-old guard pushed the pace, got to the foul line (5 of 6 in the third quarter) and helped keep the Spurs’ offense afloat throughout dry spells.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 25 Apr. 2026
West Ham are simply trying to stay afloat in 17th place, just two points above the relegation zone.
—Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Team founder Art Rooney turned a horse race bet into big winnings — enough to keep the football team afloat financially.
—Ayana Archie, NPR, 24 Apr. 2026
Such a move could fundamentally reshape competition across the airline industry, particularly for carriers that have managed to stay afloat without government support.
—Allie Canal, NBC news, 23 Apr. 2026
Spirit previously tried to find a merger partner to stay afloat – first Frontier, which was then outbid by JetBlue in 2022.
—Donald Judd, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2026
Smaller newspapers in particular rely heavily on the notices to stay afloat financially.
—Corey Hutchins, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Apr. 2026
Smart returned for the final two games, dishing out 17 assists while the Lakers tried to keep their offense afloat without Doncic and Reaves.
—Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for afloat
Adjective
-
Companies with a smaller market value generally tend to have more floating rate debt than larger businesses.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Social media posts and years of reviewing cookie-cutter luxury hotels had conditioned me to equate floating breakfasts, monogrammed accessories, butler service, and aromatherapy menus as markers of a dreamy luxury vacation.—
Katherine Alex Beaven,
Travel + Leisure,
22 Oct. 2024
Adverb
-
Both now lived abroad with their own children.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Make comfortable white sneakers a capsule wardrobe staple Shoes are where lightweight packing plans tend to fall apart, so keeping them to a minimum is non-negotiable when traveling abroad.—
Chaise Sanders,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
And while the absence of a hometown rooting interest obviously won’t translate into a total baseball blackout hereabouts, only someone who’s been clobbered over the head by Wonderboy might expect to see the World Series ratings reach the heights of last year.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
10 Oct. 2025
-
This time the recipient is area rancher Benjamin Bonney (Dermot Mulroney), who along with his thuggish sons is suspected of murdering anyone hereabouts who won’t surrender their own land to him.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
10 Jan. 2025
Adverb
-
Cost increases are everywhere, Souza said in his budget message last month.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The grocery industry will lobby hard to add the same loopholes everywhere.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Afloat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afloat. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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