bell buoy

American  

noun

Nautical.

1. a buoy having a bell that is rung by the motion of the buoy.

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bell buoy British  

noun

1. a navigational buoy fitted with a bell, the clapper of which strikes when the waves move the buoy

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Etymology

Origin of bell buoy

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bell buoy

The island is silent year-round except for the clanging of a bell buoy and the far-off drone of lobster boats.

From New York Times ● Sep. 3, 2020

Then, evoking a passage into a quiet bay, little waves lapped with a feathery sound on a soft beach, and a bell buoy clanked mournfully.

From Time Magazine Archive

It required but a visit to the bell buoy, to see at a glance the destructive effects of the storm on the unfortunate ships.

From Discoveries in Australia, Volume 2 Discoveries in Australia; with an Account of the Coasts and Rivers Explored and Surveyed During the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, in The Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43. By Command of the Lords Commissioners Of the Admiralty. Also a Narrative of Captain Owen Stanley's Visits To the Islands in the Arafura Sea by Stokes, John Lort

You just sight the two reefs and the bell buoy and when you're just opposite of the buoy, turn about and make for the shore.

From Margarita's Soul The Romantic Recollections of a Man of Fifty by Williams, J. Scott (John Scott)

There is now a bell buoy on the reef.

From The Geological Story of the Isle of Wight by Hughes, J. Cecil