buoy
Americannoun
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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.
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a life buoy.
verb (used with object)
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to keep afloat or support by or as if by a life buoy; keep from sinking (often followed byup ).
The life jacket buoyed her up until help arrived.
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Nautical. to mark with a buoy or buoys.
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to sustain or encourage (often followed byup ).
Her courage was buoyed by the doctor's assurances.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
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to prevent from sinking
the belt buoyed him up
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to raise the spirits of; hearten
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(tr) nautical to mark (a channel or obstruction) with a buoy or buoys
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(intr) to rise to the surface
Etymology
Origin of buoy
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English boye “a float,” from unattested Middle French boie, boue(e), from Germanic; akin to beacon
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Luke McCowan, buoyed by a goal and a win against Stuttgart on Thursday night, gave it the big one about Celtic being the best team in the country, despite significant evidence suggesting they are not.
From BBC
Many were buoyed by the postwar economic boom, access to affordable college educations and workplace pensions, and growth in the housing and stock markets, MarketWatch recently reported.
From MarketWatch
This strong performance also buoyed regional currencies from China’s close trading partners such as South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand amid trade uncertainties.
The earnings didn’t dent Warner stock, which was trading at around $29 a share Thursday — buoyed by the bidding war between Netflix and Paramount.
From Los Angeles Times
The lender said its personal-banking businesses were buoyed by strong revenue growth and operating leverage in the quarter, with net interest income and non-interest income both rising.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
