American English

Definition of floor noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary



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    of room
  1. 1[countable, usually singular] the surface of a room that you walk on a wooden/concrete/marble, etc. floor ceramic floor tiles The body was lying on the kitchen floor. The furniture and floor coverings date from the 1920s. The alterations should give us extra floor space.
  2. of vehicle
  3. 2 (also floorboard) [countable, usually singular] the bottom surface of a vehicle The floor of the car was covered in cigarette butts.
  4. level of building
  5. 3 [countable] all the rooms that are on the same level of a building Her office is on the second floor. the young couple who live two floors above There is an elevator to all the floors. Their house is on three floors (= it has three floors). see also ground floor
  6. of the ocean/forests
  7. 4[countable, usually singular] the ground at the bottom of the ocean, a forest, etc. the ocean/valley/cave/forest floor
  8. in Congress, etc.
  9. 5the floor [singular] the part of a building where discussions or debates are held; the people who attend a discussion or debate Opposition politicians registered their protest on the floor of the House. We will now take any questions from the floor.
  10. area for work
  11. 6[countable, usually singular] an area in a building that is used for a particular activity on the floor of the Stock Exchange (= where trading takes place) see also dance floor, factory floor, shop floor
  12. for wages/prices
  13. 7[countable, usually singular] the lowest level allowed for wages or prices Prices have gone through the floor (= fallen to a very low level). compare ceiling
  14. Thesaurusfloorground land earthThese are all words for the surface that you walk on.floor the surface of a room that you walk on:She was sitting on the floor watching TV.ground (often the ground) the solid surface of the earth that you walk on:I found her lying on the ground. The rocket crashed a few seconds after it left the the surface of the earth that is not sea:It was good to be back on dry land again. They fought both on land and at (often the earth) the solid surface of the world that is made of rock, soil, sand, etc.:You could feel the earth shake as the truck came closer.ground, land, or earth?Ground is the normal word for the solid surface that you walk on when you are not in a building or vehicle. You can use earth if you want to draw attention to the rock, soil, etc. that the ground is made of. Land is used only when you want to contrast it with the sea:the land beneath our feet feel the land shake travel by ground/earthPatterns on/under the floor/ground/earth bare floor/ground/earth to drop to/fall to the floor/the ground/(the) earth to reach the floor/the ground/landIdioms
    be/get in on the ground floor
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    to become involved in a plan, project, etc. at the beginning
    get/be given/have the floor
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    to get/be given/have the right to speak during a discussion or debate
    hold the floor
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    to speak during a discussion or debate, especially for a long time so that nobody else is able to say anything She held the floor for over an hour.
    take (to) the floor
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    to start dancing on a dance floor Couples took the floor for the last dance of the evening.
    wipe/mop the floor with somebody (informal)
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    to defeat someone completely in an argument or a competition
See the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary entry: floor