The yacht sailed around a buoy.
Source: tatoeba (29895)
Buoy
/ˈbɔɪ/
Synonyms for "buoy" (148 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (30)
Strong matches (44)
exhilarateflarefloatfloat highfog bellfog signalfog whistlefoghornfortifyglancego lightgong buoygreen lightheartenheliographhigh signhold upinternational alphabet flaginternational numeral pennantkeep up
Noun(9 words)
Related words (74)
liftlollipopmae westmarker beaconnodnudgeparachuteparachute flarepilot flagpokepolice whistlepontoonquarantine flagradio beaconraftraisered flagred lightride highrocket
Show 46 more words
roman candlerubber dinghysafety beltsailing aidsemaphoresemaphore flagsemaphore telegraphsignsignalsignal beaconsignal bellsignal firesignal flagsignal gongsignal gunsignal lampsignal lightsignal mastsignal postsignal rocketsignal shotsignal sirensignal towersirenspar buoystop lightsupportsurfboardsustainthe nodthe winktouchtraffic lighttraffic signalupbearupholdupliftupraisewaftwatch firewater wingswhite flagwigwagwigwag flagwinkyellow flag
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: aid to navigation, alarm, amber light, balefire, balsa.
- Sentence evidence is available for buoy, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, opengloss, derived_reverse, wordnet, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "buoy".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "buoy"
Keep "buoy" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "buoy" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "buoy", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "buoy" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
18 entriesShowing 16 of 18 words.
More specific
6 entriesbell buoycan buoyeconomic buoyingmarket buoyingmorale buoyingnun buoy
Collocations
12 entriesInflections
3 entriesDerivations
4 entriesTranslations
76 translations across 57 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- boei noun (moored float)
Albanian
1 entries- bovë noun (moored float)
Arabic
2 entries- شَمَنْدُورَة noun (moored float)
- عَوَّامَة noun (moored float)
Armenian
1 entries- ծփան noun (moored float)
Asturian
1 entries- boya noun (moored float)
Azerbaijani
1 entries- şamandıra noun (moored float)
Basque
1 entries- buia noun (moored float)
Belarusian
1 entries- буй noun (moored float)
Bulgarian
2 entries- буй noun (moored float)
- шамандура noun (moored float)
Catalan
1 entries- boia noun (moored float)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 浮標 /浮标 noun (moored float)
Czech
1 entries- bóje noun (moored float)
Danish
1 entries- bøje noun (moored float)
Dutch
1 entries- boei noun (moored float)
Esperanto
2 entries- buo noun (moored float)
- naĝobarelo noun (moored float)
Estonian
1 entries- poi noun (moored float)
Finnish
2 entries- poiju noun (moored float)
- reimari noun (moored float)
French
3 entries- balise noun (moored float)
- bouée noun (moored float)
- flotteur noun (moored float)
Galician
1 entries- boia noun (moored float)
Georgian
1 entries- ტივტივა noun (moored float)
German
2 entries- Boje noun (moored float)
- Tonne noun (moored float)
Greek
1 entries- σημαδούρα noun (moored float)
Hawaiian
1 entries- poe noun (moored float)
Hebrew
1 entries- מצוף noun (moored float)
Hungarian
1 entries- bója noun (moored float)
Icelandic
2 entries- bauja noun (moored float)
- dufl noun (moored float)
Ido
1 entries- boyo noun (moored float)
Ingrian
2 entries- buju noun (moored float)
- veha noun (moored float)
Irish
1 entries- baoi noun (moored float)
Italian
1 entries- boa noun (moored float)
Japanese
2 entries- ブイ noun (moored float)
- 浮標 noun (moored float)
Korean
2 entries- 부이 noun (moored float)
- 부표 noun (moored float)
Latin
1 entries- attollo noun (moored float)
Lithuanian
2 entries- buja noun (moored float)
- plūduras noun (moored float)
Lower Sorbian
1 entries- boja noun (moored float)
Macedonian
1 entries- пловка noun (moored float)
Malay
1 entries- pelampung noun (moored float)
Norman
2 entries- bondé noun (moored float)
- boule noun (moored float)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- bøye noun (moored float)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- bøye noun (moored float)
Ottoman Turkish
2 entries- شماندره noun (moored float)
- شماندوره noun (moored float)
Persian
1 entries- بویه noun (moored float)
Polish
2 entries- boja noun (moored float)
- pława noun (moored float)
Portuguese
1 entries- boia noun (moored float)
Romanian
1 entries- geamandură noun (moored float)
Russian
3 entries- ба́кен noun (moored float)
- буй noun (moored float)
- буёк noun (moored float)
Serbo-Croatian
3 entries- bova noun (moored float)
- plovak noun (moored float)
- plutača noun (moored float)
Slovene
1 entries- boja noun (moored float)
Spanish
1 entries- boya noun (moored float)
Swahili
1 entries- boya noun (moored float)
Swedish
1 entries- boj noun (moored float)
Tagalog
1 entries- palutang noun (moored float)
Turkish
1 entries- şamandıra noun (moored float)
Ukrainian
1 entries- буй noun (moored float)
Uyghur
1 entries- لەيمىلەك noun (moored float)
Vietnamese
1 entries- phao noun (moored float)
Welsh
1 entries- bwi noun (moored float)
Sample sentences
15 total sentences available.
The yacht sailed round a buoy.
Source: tatoeba (49745)
A ship's captain must remain observant that a reliable buoy be attached to each anchor by a sturdy rope, so that one could find and raise the anchor if its anchor-cable were to be shorn apart, were to fall into the sea or were to be hewn apart.
Source: tatoeba (1776092)
Florence was for me a life buoy in the sea of life.
Source: tatoeba (3246208)
Showing 4 of 15 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "buoy"?
Closest matches include aid to navigation, alarm, amber light, balefire, balsa.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "buoy"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.