From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishafloata‧float /əˈfləʊt $ əˈfloʊt/ adjective [not before noun] 1 ENOUGHhaving enough money to operate or stay out of debtkeep (somebody/something) afloat/stay afloat The Treasury borrowed £40 billion, just to stay afloat.2 ON/ON TOP OFfloating on waterkeep (somebody/something) afloat/stay afloat Somehow we kept the ship afloat. —afloat adverb
Examples from the Corpus
afloat• I moved my hands and feet slightly to stay afloat.• Those in the water tried to hold on to the boats that were still afloat.• Hereford lived dangerously but by half time were still managing to keep afloat.• It was near low water now, and I had to get the dinghy afloat.• The Normandie, due on May 18, promises luxury afloat.• The swimsuits and trunks have attached foam shoulders to help keep kids afloat.• The Chattahoochee was too shallow to keep barges afloat in the navigable waterway south of Atlanta.• In spite of my warnings about leaving the boat where it would stay afloat, the inevitable had happened and he was stranded.From Longman Business Dictionaryafloata‧float /əˈfləʊtəˈfloʊt/ adjectiveCOMMERCE having enough money to operate or stay out of debtMatthew has been selling key assets just to keep the business afloat.The company needs a cash injection of around £3 million to stay afloat.Origin afloat Old English on flot “on the sea” 