FLOAT

Meaning

A buoyant device used to support something in water or another liquid.

“Attach the float and the weight to the fishing line, above the hook.”

• verbOf an object or substance, to be supported by a liquid of greater density than the object so as that part of the object or substance remains above the surface.

FLOAT as a word-puzzle answer

FLOAT is a 5-letter word with 2 vowels (O, A) and 3 consonants (F, L, T). Every letter is distinct, so it rarely punishes a clean opening guess.

It leans on high-frequency letters (O, A, T), so a strong vowel-and-common-consonant opener tends to light up quickly. There are no rare letters here, so it is a fair, mid-difficulty answer for the daily Classic puzzle.

FLOAT by the numbers

Across the 1,734 curated answers in the Wordocious bank, A appears in 40% of answers (the 2nd most common letter), T appears in 30% of answers (the 4th most common letter), O appears in 30% of answers (the 5th most common letter). 28 other answers share the opening “FL-”, so two green tiles up front still leave real guessing to do.

Difficulty: 1/5 — very approachable, because its letters are common and no close neighbors compete with it.

Near misses

Same letters, different order: ALOFT — yellow-heavy boards can be hiding this anagram instead.

Put it to use

Words like FLOAT are exactly what the daily puzzles throw at you. Warm up in Practice, race the clock in the Daily Challenge, or study the best starting words before your next run. New to the multi-board modes? The mode guides cover all nine.