buoy

[boo-ee, boi] /ˈbu i, bɔɪ/
noun
1.
Nautical. a distinctively shaped and marked float, sometimes carrying a signal or signals, anchored to mark a channel, anchorage, navigational hazard, etc., or to provide a mooring place away from the shore.
2.
a life buoy.
verb (used with object)
3.
to keep afloat or support by or as if by a life buoy; keep from sinking (often followed by up):
The life jacket buoyed her up until help arrived.
4.
Nautical. to mark with a buoy or buoys.
5.
to sustain or encourage (often followed by up):
Her courage was buoyed by the doctor's assurances.
verb (used without object)
6.
to float or rise by reason of lightness.
Origin
1425-75; late Middle English boye a float < Middle French *boie, boue(e) < Germanic; akin to beacon
Related forms
unbuoyed, adjective
Can be confused
boy, buoy.
Synonyms
5. lift, uplift, boost, lighten; maintain, nurture.
Examples from the web for buoy
  • It tilts sideways on the harbor bed, attached by its stemlike shank to a chain, and then to a buoy at the surface of the water.
  • Whatever else happened, the milestone of completing the doctorate would buoy my spirits.
  • To buoy house prices the package includes a rescue plan for distressed mortgages more generous than anything previously mooted.
  • The buoy system was designed primarily to prevent collisions, but it has the potential to deliver a scientific windfall.
  • When the buoy rides up a crest of the wave, it stretches the elastomer.
  • But, overall, the emerging world will be less of a buoy to global growth than it has been hitherto.
  • The country also has an experimental offshore deep-ocean buoy and sensor system.
  • Once a link between the buoy and the command center is established, it then lowers an antenna deep into the water.
  • When the surface buoy rises with a swell, it pulls the glider upward.
  • Demand for many types of paper there is declining, though mill closures and shrinking capacity buoy prices.
British Dictionary definitions for buoy

buoy

/bɔɪ; US ˈbuːɪ/
noun
1.
a distinctively shaped and coloured float, anchored to the bottom, for designating moorings, navigable channels, or obstructions in a body of water See also life buoy
verb
2.
(transitive) usually foll by up. to prevent from sinking: the belt buoyed him up
3.
(transitive) usually foll by up. to raise the spirits of; hearten
4.
(transitive) (nautical) to mark (a channel or obstruction) with a buoy or buoys
5.
(intransitive) to rise to the surface
Word Origin
C13: probably of Germanic origin; compare Middle Dutch boeie, boeye; see beacon
Word Origin and History for buoy
n.

late 13c., perhaps from either Old French buie or Middle Dutch boeye, both from West Germanic *baukna "beacon, signal" (see beacon). OED, however, supports Middle Dutch boeie, or Old French boie "fetter, chain" (see boy), "because of its being fettered to a spot."

v.

late 16c., "to mark with a buoy," from buoy (n.). Meaning "rise up, lift, sustain" is from c.1600, perhaps influenced by Spanish boyar "to float," ultimately from the same source. In the figurative sense (of hopes, spirits, etc.) it is recorded from 1640s. Related: Buoyed; buoying.

Encyclopedia Article for buoy

floating object anchored at a definite location to guide or warn mariners, to mark positions of submerged objects, or to moor vessels in lieu of anchoring. Two international buoyage systems are used to mark channels and submerged dangers. In both systems, buoys of standardized colours and shapes indicate safe passageways. Special-purpose buoys are designed for a variety of uses; they include cable buoys, anchor buoys, or race buoys. A mooring buoy differs from other types in not being an aid to navigation but a point to which vessels may be tied up. Secured to a permanent group of anchors by a heavy chain, such a buoy serves as a connecting link between the vessel and the anchors. The use of mooring buoys conserves space in crowded harbours because a moored vessel requires less room to swing with the wind and tide than does a vessel at anchor

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