A float is a display which is set off from the main text. It is typically labeled as being a “Figure”, “Table”, “Example”, or some similar type.
A float is so-named because, in principle, it can be moved to the
bottom or top of the current page, or to a following page, in the
printed output. (Floating does not make sense in other output
formats.) In every output format except for LaTeX, however,
this floating is unfortunately not yet implemented. Instead, the
floating material is simply output at the current location, more
or less as if it were an @group (see @group: Prevent Page Breaks).