What does "buoy" mean?
A float moored in water to mark a location, warn of danger, indicate a navigational channel or for other purposes
Buoy
/ˈbɔɪ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A float moored in water to mark a location, warn of danger, indicate a navigational channel or for other purposes
- Grammar: buoy is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: aid to navigation, alarm, amber light, balefire.
- Useful contrasts: bobs, burden, deflate.
- Usage evidence: The yacht sailed around a buoy.
How to use "buoy"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "buoy" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "buoy" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "buoy" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "buoy" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "buoy" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "aid to navigation" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "buoy", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A float moored in water to mark a location, warn of danger, indicate a navigational channel or for other purposes
"While comm buoys allow rapid transmission, there is a finite amount of bandwidth available. Given that trillions of people may be trying to pass a message through a given buoy at any one time, access to the network is parceled out on priority tiers."
- 2 a float attached by rope to the seabed to mark channels in a harbor or underwater hazards; typically brightly-coloured wordnet
- 3 A float moored in water to mark a location, warn of danger, indicate a navigational channel or for other purposes; A lifebuoy; a life preserver.
- 4 A sign where the non-dominant hand is held in a stationary configuration as a landmark for meaning associations with the dominant hand.
"list buoy"
Verb
- 1 To keep afloat or aloft; used with up. transitive
- 2 mark with a buoy wordnet
- 3 To support or maintain at a high level. transitive
"“My Heart Will Go On” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on Feb. 28, 1998, buoying the Titanic soundtrack’s 16-week run atop the Billboard 200."
- 4 keep afloat wordnet
- 5 To mark with a buoy. transitive
"to buoy an anchor; to buoy or buoy off a channel"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 float on the surface of water wordnet
- 7 To maintain or enhance enthusiasm or confidence; to lift the spirits of.
"Buoyed by the huge success, they announced two other projects."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The yacht sailed around a buoy."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "buoy"?
Common synonyms include: aid to navigation, alarm, amber light, balefire, balsa, balsa raft.
How do you use "buoy" in a sentence?
The yacht sailed around a buoy.
How do you pronounce "buoy"?
Pronounced /ˈbɔɪ/.
Etymology
From Middle English boy, boye, from Middle Dutch boeye (“float, buoy”), from Old French boue (“piece of wood or cork that floats above an anchor to indicate where it is anchored”) (modern French bouée), ultimately from Frankish *baukn (“beacon”). Doublet of beacon. Same root as English bon in bonfire. Alternatively, and perhaps less likely (due to the unexplained shift in meaning), from Middle Dutch boeye (“shackle, fetter”), from Old French buie (“fetter, chain”), from Latin boia (“a (leather) collar, band, fetter”), from Ancient Greek βόεος (bóeos), βόειος (bóeios, “of ox-hide”), from βοῦς (boûs, “ox”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cow”). Noun sense 2 was coined by American linguist Scott K. Lindell in 2003.