In Python, a float is a data type that represents a decimal number or a fractional number. It is a built-in function that converts integers or real numbers into floating-point numbers. Floats are represented as machine-level double-precision floating-point numbers in Python, and their range is restricted by fundamental machine architecture subject to available memory.

The syntax for the float() function is as follows: float(. The function takes a single parameter, x, which is a number or a string that needs to be converted to a floating-point number. If x` is a string, it should contain decimal points, and leading and trailing whitespaces are removed. The function returns an equivalent floating-point number if an argument is passed, 0.0 if no arguments are passed, and an OverflowError exception if the argument is outside the range of Python float.

Here is an example to help you better understand the float() function. If you type: x = float(56) print(x), the value of x will be 56.0.