bell buoy

American  

noun

Nautical.

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

---

bell buoy British  

noun

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

---

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 John Lort Stokes

Presently the major, booming away like a bell buoy, became aware that his audience had dwindled.

From The Escape of Mr. Trimm His Plight and other Plights by Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury) Cobb

The dogged booming of a gun from a shore battery sounded lonely and remote as a bell buoy.

From The Long Roll by Mary Johnston