# floor

Pronunciation: US say "FLOR" /flɔɹ/; UK say "FLAW" /flɔː/

## Noun

1. The flat lower surface of a room, building, or other structure such as a bridge, that people stand, walk, or drive on; also the structure that forms it.
   - Simple: The flat part of a room, building, or bridge that you walk or stand on.
   - _He swept the workshop floor at the end of every shift._
   - _The old wooden floors creaked under each step._
2. A single level or story of a building.
   - Simple: One level of a building, with all its rooms at the same height.
   - _The marketing team occupies the entire fifth floor._
   - _Fire safety rules require a marked exit on every floor._
3. The bottom surface of a natural or dug-out space, such as a cave, forest, sea, valley, pit, or mine.
   - Simple: The ground or bottom of a place like a forest, a cave, the sea, or a mine.
   - _Divers explored the ocean floor far below the surface._
   - _Fallen leaves blanketed the forest floor by late autumn._
4. The ground; the surface underfoot, whether inside or out. *(dialectal, UK)*
   - Simple: The ground or the surface under your feet, indoors or outdoors.
   - _Watch your step out here, because the floor by the gate is covered in ice._
   - _His glove fell on the floor as he crossed the yard._
5. The main area of a business or venue where the work or activity happens, such as a restaurant's dining area, a stock exchange's trading area, a casino's gaming area, or a factory or shop floor.
   - Simple: The main part of a restaurant, shop, factory, casino, or other place, where the work or business happens.
   - _New servers spend their first week learning the floor before taking tables._
   - _The manager kept an eye on the floor to make sure every table was happy._
6. The part of a legislative chamber assigned to its members, distinct from the public viewing gallery.
   - Simple: The part of a parliament where the members sit, not the area for visitors.
   - _Several lawmakers crossed the floor to vote with the opposition._
   - _Tempers flared on the floor of the assembly during the late-night session._
9. The right to speak at a particular time during a debate or public meeting.
   - Simple: The right to speak during a meeting or debate.
   - _The senator yielded the floor to her colleague after a brief statement._
   - _Once granted the floor, he spoke for nearly twenty minutes._
7. The area set aside for dancing at a club, party, or event.
   - Simple: The open space at a club or party where people dance.
   - _The DJ kept the floor full until two in the morning with one hit after another._
   - _By midnight the floor was packed with dancers._
8. A lower limit or minimum set on a price or rate; the opposite of a cap or ceiling.
   - Simple: The lowest price or rate that is allowed, so it cannot go below it.
   - _Regulators introduced a price floor to keep small producers in business._
   - _The contract guarantees a floor beneath which the interest rate cannot fall._
10. The audience at a meeting, conference or debate, considered as a body separate from the speakers on the platform.
   - Simple: The people listening at a meeting or debate, not the people speaking at the front.
   - _When the keynote ended, the chair opened the session to questions from the floor._
   - _The motion drew loud applause from the floor but little support among the panelists._
14. A gymnastics event performed on a carpeted, floor-like surface; the floor exercise.
   - Simple: A gymnastics event performed on a padded, carpeted surface.
   - _The gymnast won gold on floor with a flawless tumbling pass._
   - _Floor is often the final event in a women's competition._
15. A carpeted, padded surface on which gymnasts perform their movements.
   - Simple: The padded, carpeted surface that gymnasts tumble and jump on.
   - _The competition floor measures twelve meters on each side._
   - _The gymnast ran diagonally across the floor, launched into a double twist, and landed just inside the white boundary line._
17. The greatest integer that does not exceed a given number.
   - Simple: The biggest whole number, counting negative ones, that is not larger than a given number.
   - _The floor of any whole number is simply that number itself._
   - _The floor of 4.9 is 4, while the floor of -4.9 is -5, since it can never be greater than the original number._

## Verb

11. To push a pedal all the way down to the floor, especially to accelerate hard. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To press a pedal all the way down, usually to speed up fast.
   - _She floored the pedal and the car shot forward._
   - _Drivers who floor the throttle at green lights waste fuel._
12. To amaze or greatly surprise someone. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To surprise someone so much that they don't know what to say.
   - _Her sudden resignation floored the entire department._
   - _Such generosity can floor even the most cynical observer._
13. To strike someone or something down, laying them level with the ground.
   - Simple: To knock someone down to the ground with a hit.
   - _A swift uppercut floored the challenger in the first round._
   - _Fighters who floor their opponents early often tire later._
16. To cover or fit a room or structure with a floor.
   - Simple: To put a floor into a room or building.
   - _The builders floored the new extension in seasoned oak._
   - _Workers will floor the gymnasium with shock-absorbing material._
18. To silence someone with a reply or retort they cannot answer. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To beat someone in an argument so they have nothing left to say.
   - _Her quick comeback floored the heckler, who opened his mouth, found nothing to say, and sat back down._
   - _A single fact was enough to floor the loud critic._
19. To bring something to a complete end; to finish it off. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To finish something off completely.
20. To impose a lower bound on a quantity or value.
   - Simple: To set the lowest level that something is allowed to reach.
   - _Regulators decided to floor the exchange rate to prevent a collapse._
   - _The contract floors payments at last year's level._

## Verb

21. To hang a picture in an exhibition low on the wall, where it cannot easily be seen. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To hang a painting low on a wall, where it is hard to see.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A flat, horizontally lying mass of ore, or the rock below a layered or nearly horizontal mineral deposit.
- (noun) The part of a vessel's bottom on each side of the keelson that lies most nearly horizontal.

## Origin

Inherited from Middle English "flor," from Old English "flōr" (floor, pavement, ground, bottom), from Proto-Germanic "*flōraz" (flat surface, floor, plain), ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root "*pleh₂-" meaning "flat." It is related to Dutch "vloer," German "Flur," Welsh "llawr," and Latin "plānus" (level, flat).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/floor (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).