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buoy - 7 dictionary results
bu⋅oy
[boo-ee, boi] 
i
–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 fol. 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 fol. by up): Her courage was buoyed by the doctor's assurances. |
–verb (used without object)
| 6. | to float or rise by reason of lightness. |
Synonyms:
5. lift, uplift, boost, lighten; maintain, nurture.
5. lift, uplift, boost, lighten; maintain, nurture.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To buoy
| buoy (bōō'ē, boi) n.
[Middle English boie, from Old French boue, probably of Germanic origin; see bhā-1 in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.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.Buoy
Buoy\, v. i. To float; to rise like a buoy. "Rising merit will buoy up at last." --Pope.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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buoy (n.)
1296, perhaps from either O.Fr. buie or M.Du. boeye, both from W.Gmc. *baukn "beacon" (cf. O.H.G. bouhhan, O.Fris. baken). O.E.D., however, supports M.Du. boeie, or O.Fr. boie "fetter, chain" (see boy), "because of its being fettered to a spot." The verb, in the fig. sense (of spirits, etc.) is from 1645.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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