Floor

[flawr, flohr] /flɔr, floʊr/

noun
1.
that part of a room, hallway, or the like, that forms its lower enclosing surface and upon which one walks.
2.
a continuous, supporting surface extending horizontally throughout a building, having a number of rooms, apartments, or the like, and constituting one level or stage in the structure; story.
3.
a level, supporting surface in any structure:
the elevator floor.
4.
one of two or more layers of material composing a floor:
rough floor; finish floor.
5.
a platform or prepared level area for a particular use:
a threshing floor.
6.
the bottom of any more or less hollow place:
the floor of a tunnel.
7.
a more or less flat extent of surface:
the floor of the ocean.
8.
the part of a legislative chamber, meeting room, etc., where the members sit, and from which they speak.
9.
the right of one member to speak from such a place in preference to other members:
The senator from Alaska has the floor.
10.
the area of a floor, as in a factory or retail store, where items are actually made or sold, as opposed to offices, supply areas, etc.:
There are only two salesclerks on the floor.
11.
the main part of a stock or commodity exchange or the like, as distinguished from the galleries, platform, etc.
12.
the bottom, base, or minimum charged, demanded, or paid:
The government avoided establishing a price or wage floor.
13.
Mining. an underlying stratum, as of ore, usually flat.
14.
Nautical.

verb (used with object)
15.
to cover or furnish with a floor.
16.
to bring down to the floor or ground; knock down:
He floored his opponent with one blow.
17.
to overwhelm; defeat.
18.
to confound or puzzle; nonplus:
I was floored by the problem.
19.
Also, floorboard. to push (a foot-operated accelerator pedal) all the way down to the floor of a vehicle, for maximum speed or power.
Idioms
20.
mop / wipe the floor with, Informal. to overwhelm completely; defeat:
He expected to mop the floor with his opponents.
21.
take the floor, to arise to address a meeting.
/flɔː/
noun
1.
Also called flooring. the inner lower surface of a room
2.
a storey of a building: the second floor
3.
a flat bottom surface in or on any structure: the floor of a lift, a dance floor
4.
the bottom surface of a tunnel, cave, river, sea, etc
5.
(mining) an underlying stratum
6.
(nautical) the bottom, or the lowermost framing members at the bottom, of a vessel
7.
that part of a legislative hall in which debate and other business is conducted
8.
the right to speak in a legislative or deliberative body (esp in the phrases get, have, or be given the floor)
9.
the room in a stock exchange where trading takes place
10.
the earth; ground
11.
a minimum price charged or paid: a wage floor
12.
take the floor, to begin dancing on a dance floor
verb
13.
to cover with or construct a floor
14.
(transitive) to knock to the floor or ground
15.
(transitive) (informal) to disconcert, confound, or defeat: to be floored by a problem
n.

Old English flor “floor, pavement, ground, bottom (of a lake, etc.),” from Proto-Germanic *floruz “floor” (cf. Middle Dutch and Dutch vloer, Old Norse flor “floor,” Middle High German vluor, German Flur “field, meadow”), from PIE *plaros “flat surface” (cf. Welsh llawr “ground”), enlarged from *pele- (2) “flat, to spread” (see plane (n.1)).

Meaning “level of a house” is from 1580s. The figurative sense in legislative assemblies (as opposed to the platform) is first recorded 1774. Spanish suelo “floor” is from Latin solum “bottom, ground, soil;” German Boden is cognate with English bottom. Floor plan attested from 1867.
v.

early 15c., “to furnish with a floor,” from floor (n.). Sense of “puzzle, confound” is 1830, from notion of “knock down to the floor” (1640s). Related: Floored; flooring.

verb

Related Terms

clean up on someone,in on the ground floor, mop the floor with someone, put someone on the floor
see: