float

1. General: Period between the beginning and the close of a transaction.

2. Accounting: Small sum of money kept at hand to meet small expenses. Also called imprest amount.

3. Banking: (1) Time lapse between issuing a check and debiting of its amount from the check issuer's account, or between depositing a check and crediting of its amount to the check depositor's account. The check issuer gains interest due to the payment float, the check depositor loses interest due to the collection float. (2) Amount represented by a check passing through a bank's check clearing cycle.

4. Project management: Time for which an activity can be delayed without delaying the entire project.

5. Securities trading: Total number of outstanding stock (shares) of a firm available on the stockmarket. A low-level of float indicates high volatility because every big purchase or sale of the stock will have a dramatic effect its market price.