Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: on flot 'on the sea'

afloat

 adjective
     
a‧float [not before noun]
1 having enough money to operate or stay out of debt
keep (somebody/something) afloat/stay afloat
The Treasury borrowed £40 billion, just to stay afloat.
2 floating on water
keep (somebody/something) afloat/stay afloat
Somehow we kept the ship afloat.
—afloat adverb
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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