floor

—floorless, adj.

/flawr, flohr/, n.

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. Naut.

a. the bottom of a hull.

b. any of a number of deep, transverse framing members at the bottom of a steel or iron hull, generally interrupted by and joined to any vertical keel or keelsons.

c. the lowermost member of a frame in a wooden vessel.

15. mop or wipe the floor with, Informal. to overwhelm completely; defeat: He expected to mop the floor with his opponents.

16. take the floor, to arise to address a meeting.

v.t.

17. to cover or furnish with a floor.

18. to bring down to the floor or ground; knock down: He floored his opponent with one blow.

19. to overwhelm; defeat.

20. to confound or puzzle; nonplus: I was floored by the problem.

21. Also, floorboard. to push (a foot-operated accelerator pedal) all the way down to the floor of a vehicle, for maximum speed or power.

[bef. 900; ME flor, OE flor; c. ON flor, MLG vlor, MHG vluor (G Flur)]

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Rigid building assembly that divides space horizontally into stories.

It forms the bottom of a room. It may consist of joist-supported wood planks or panels, decking or panels supported by wood or steel beams, a slab of stone or concrete on the ground, or a reinforced-concrete slab carried by concrete beams and columns. The floor assembly must support its own dead load plus the live load of occupants, activities, and furnishings. The horizontal supports beneath its top surface

and the vertical supports into which they frame

must be sufficiently large and spaced closely enough to prevent sagging of the assembly.

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