Adjacent Words

Buoy definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BUOY, n. A close empty cask, or a block of wood or cork, fastened by a rope to an anchor,and floating on the water, to show where the anchor is situated. Buoys are of various kinds, as can-buoys, in the form of a cone; nun-buoys, which are large in the middle, and tapering nearly to a point at each end; cable-buoys, empty casks,employed to buoy up the cable, in rocky anchorage. Buoys are used also as marks, to point out the situation of rocks, shoals, or a channel.
To stream the buoy, is to let it fall by the ship's side into the water, before letting go the anchor.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: bright-colored; a float attached by rope to the seabed to mark channels in a harbor or underwater hazards v
1: float on the surface of water
2: keep afloat; "The life vest buoyed him up" [syn: buoy, buoy up]
3: mark with a buoy

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English boye, probably from Middle Dutch boeye; akin to Old High German bouhhan sign — more at beacon Date: 13th century 1. float 2; especially a floating object moored to the bottom to mark a channel or something (as a shoal) lying under the water 2. life buoy II. verb Date: 1596 transitive verb 1. to mark by or as if by a buoy 2. a. to keep afloat b. support, uplift <an economy buoyed by the dramatic postwar growth of industry — Time> 3. to raise the spirits of — usually used with up <hope buoys him up> intransitive verb float — usually used with up

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 an anchored float serving as a navigation mark or to show reefs etc. 2 a lifebuoy. --v.tr. 1 (usu. foll. by up) a keep afloat. b sustain the courage or spirits of (a person etc.); uplift, encourage. 2 (often foll. by out) mark with a buoy or buoys. Etymology: ME prob. f. MDu. bo(e)ye, ult. f. L boia collar f. Gk boeiai ox-hides

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Buoy Buoy, v. i. To float; to rise like a buoy. ``Rising merit will buoy up at last.'' --Pope.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Buoy Buoy, n. [D. boei buoy, fetter, fr. OF. boie, buie, chain, fetter, F. bou['e]e a buoy, from L. boia. ``Boiae genus vinculorum tam ferreae quam ligneae.'' --Festus. So called because chained to its place.] (Naut.) A float; esp. a floating object moored to the bottom, to mark a channel or to point out the position of something beneath the water, as an anchor, shoal, rock, etc. Anchor buoy, a buoy attached to, or marking the position of, an anchor. Bell buoy, a large buoy on which a bell is mounted, to be rung by the motion of the waves. Breeches buoy. See under Breeches. Cable buoy, an empty cask employed to buoy up the cable in rocky anchorage. Can buoy, a hollow buoy made of sheet or boiler iron, usually conical or pear-shaped. Life buoy, a float intended to support persons who have fallen into the water, until a boat can be dispatched to save them. Nut or Nun buoy, a buoy large in the middle, and tapering nearly to a point at each end. To stream the buoy, to let the anchor buoy fall by the ship's side into the water, before letting go the anchor. Whistling buoy, a buoy fitted with a whistle that is blown by the action of the waves.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Buoy Buoy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Buoyed; p. pr. & vb. n. Buoying.] 1. To keep from sinking in a fluid, as in water or air; to keep afloat; -- with up. 2. To support or sustain; to preserve from sinking into ruin or despondency. Those old prejudices, which buoy up the ponderous mass of his nobility, wealth, and title. --Burke. 3. To fix buoys to; to mark by a buoy or by buoys; as, to buoy an anchor; to buoy or buoy off a channel. Not one rock near the surface was discovered which was not buoyed by this floating weed. --Darwin.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(buoys, buoying, buoyed) 1. A buoy is a floating object that is used to show ships and boats where they can go and to warn them of danger. N-COUNT 2. If someone in a difficult situation is buoyed by something, it makes them feel more cheerful and optimistic. In May they danced in the streets, buoyed by their victory... German domestic consumption buoyed the German economy. VERB: be V-ed by n, V n • Buoy up means the same as buoy. They are buoyed up by a sense of hope. PHRASAL VERB: be V-ed P, also V n P

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Float (to indicate shoals, anchoring-places, etc.).

Moby Thesaurus

Carling float, Mae West, Roman candle, aid to navigation, alarm, amber light, balefire, balsa, balsa raft, beacon, beacon fire, bear up, bell, bell buoy, blinker, blue peter, bob, boom, breeches buoy, buoy up, caution light, cork, cork jacket, ejection capsule, ejection seat, ejector seat, elevate, flare, float, float high, fog bell, fog signal, fog whistle, foghorn, glance, go light, gong buoy, green light, hearten, heliograph, high sign, hold up, international alphabet flag, international numeral pennant, keep up, kick, leer, life belt, life buoy, life jacket, life net, life preserver, life raft, life ring, life vest, lifeboat, lifeline, lift, lollipop, marker beacon, nod, nudge, parachute, parachute flare, pilot flag, poke, police whistle, pontoon, quarantine flag, radio beacon, raft, raise, red flag, red light, ride high, rocket, rubber dinghy, safety belt, sailing aid, semaphore, semaphore flag, semaphore telegraph, sign, signal, signal beacon, signal bell, signal fire, signal flag, signal gong, signal gun, signal lamp, signal light, signal mast, signal post, signal rocket, signal shot, signal siren, signal tower, siren, spar buoy, stop light, support, surfboard, sustain, the nod, the wink, touch, traffic light, traffic signal, upbear, uphold, uplift, upraise, waft, watch fire, water wings, white flag, wigwag, wigwag flag, wink, yellow flag