Skip to content
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

buoy

/ˈbɔɪ/

Press play to hear how to pronounce buoy.

American Pronunciation Guide · 0:33
Watch on YouTube ↗

What does buoy mean?

noun

  1. A float moored in water to mark a location, warn of danger, indicate a navigational channel or for other purposes
  2. A lifebuoy; a life preserver.
  3. A sign where the non-dominant hand is held in a stationary configuration as a landmark for meaning associations with the dominant hand.
More meanings (4)

verb

  1. To keep afloat or aloft; used with up.
  2. To support or maintain at a high level.
  3. To mark with a buoy.
  4. To maintain or enhance enthusiasm or confidence; to lift the spirits of.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈbɔɪ/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other dictionary pronunciations

/ˈbu.i/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

This buoy shone under the rays of the sun as if it had been made of plates of silver.
Jules VerneFrom the Earth to the moon; and, round the moonProject Gutenberg ebook #83
From the beginning of the month the Fram lay moored to her buoy outside the old walls of Akershus.
Roald AmundsenThe South Pole; an account of the Norwegian Antarctic expedition in the "Fram," 1910-1912 — Volume 1Translated by Arthur G. ChaterProject Gutenberg ebook #3414
More book examples (3)
The Lighthouse yacht rode at another buoy with all hands on board that could possibly be spared out of the floating light.
Robert Louis StevensonRecords of a Family of EngineersProject Gutenberg ebook #280
By the time we were entirely around and pointed, the first buoy was not more than a hundred yards in front of us.
Mark TwainFollowing the Equator: A Journey Around the WorldProject Gutenberg ebook #2895
At the end of it is a buoy with a bell, which swings in bad weather, and sends in a mournful sound on the wind.
Bram StokerDraculaProject Gutenberg ebook #345