float
FLOHT
/floʊt/
A flat hand tool or power machine used to smooth, compact, and seal concrete surfaces after screeding.
Brings fine cement cream to the surface while pushing coarse aggregate down into the slab body.
The story behind the word. From Old English fleotan. Applied to finishing tools because the wide flat blade of wood or magnesium appears to 'float' effortlessly over wet mortar without sinking in.
Word relationships
- darby: A darby is a long two-handed wood blade tool; a float is a shorter flat tool or wide bull-float.
- trowel: A float leaves a textured non-slip surface; a steel trowel creates a polished glass-smooth hard surface.
- rake: A multi-pronged tool used to distribute or roughen coarse loose aggregate.
Commonly confused with
- screed: Screed cuts away excess concrete height; float smooths lines and seals top surface pores.
Word family
- floating (noun): The step of smoothing and compacting wet concrete with a float tool.
Collocations
- bull float
- magnesium float
- power float
- float the surface
Example sentences
- "The mason swept a magnesium bull float across the slab to eliminate ridges created during screeding." Concrete Finishing
- "Floating must occur after initial screeding, right before bleed water accumulates on top of the slab." Field Specs
Memory hook
FLOAT FLOATS lightly on top of wet concrete. Float = surface smoothing tool.
When not to use
Do not confuse with buoyancy in water or financial stock floatation.
Fun facts
- Magnesium floats are prized by masons because they glide without pulling or sticking to wet cement paste.
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.