Hoedown's beginning on float (5)
I believe the answer is:
hover
'float' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'hoedown's beginning on' is the wordplay.
'beginning' says to take the initial letters.
'on' becomes 'over' (I've seen this before).
The initial letter of 'hoedowns' is 'h'.
'h'+'over'='HOVER'
(Other definitions for hover that I've seen before include "Be poised" , "Fly over same spot" , "Float hanging in the air" , "Float above in the air, perhaps a craft" , "Wait around (like a kestrel)" .)