floatplane

floatplane — noun

1. an aircraft built with long, narrow floats under its body instead of wheels, so

1.nounC1
Definition

an aircraft built with long, narrow floats under its body instead of wheels, so it can take off from and land on water.

Example

Ryo took photos of the red floatplane gliding across the calm lake at sunrise.

noun phrase: a [colour] floatplane gliding across [water]

The rescue team arrived at the remote island by floatplane within two hours.

travel by floatplane (means of transport)

Common collocations
  • small floatplane
  • fly a floatplane
  • land a floatplane
  • by floatplane
  • floatplane pilot
Synonyms
  • seaplane

    broader term covering floatplanes and flying boats; more common in everyday English

  • pontoon plane

    informal North American term, emphasising the float design

  • hydroplane

    older or technical synonym; also means a fast boat in modern use, so can be ambiguous

Antonyms
  • landplane

    an aircraft built with wheels for runway use, not water

Usage Note

Subject is usually a pilot, passenger, or rescue/delivery team. Most common with verbs of travel (fly, land, take off) and locations involving water (lake, harbour, coast).

Common Mistakes

The floatplane drove on the lake.
The floatplane landed on the lake.
a floatplane lands or takes off on water; it does not drive.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe aircraft that operate from water, but they are not interchangeable. 'Seaplane' is the umbrella term and the one most learners will meet first; it covers any aircraft that can take off from and land on water. A 'floatplane' is one specific type: a normal aeroplane fitted with long external floats under the body. A 'flying boat', by contrast, has a boat-shaped hull and sits in the water with its body, with no separate floats; large historical passenger aircraft like the Boeing 314 Clipper were flying boats. 'Pontoon plane' is an informal North American word for a floatplane, used by people who call the floats 'pontoons'. In careful writing, use 'seaplane' as the general label and 'floatplane' or 'flying boat' when the design type matters.

floatplane ↗seaplane ↗flying boatpontoon plane

Common collocations

Nouns

  • floatplane pilot
  • floatplane service
  • floatplane base

Phrases

  • take off in a floatplane
  • fly a floatplane

Prepositions

  • by floatplane
  • on a floatplane

Etymology

English

A modern English compound, first used in the early twentieth century when aircraft designers began fitting long buoyant floats under standard aeroplanes so they could operate from water. 'Float' here keeps its everyday sense of an object that sits on water, joined to 'plane', the short form of 'aeroplane' that became common in the same period.