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

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

Hart stayed with Bucky past Boca Grande�s second bell buoy.

From Time Magazine Archive

Maida remembered what I had told her last night: how, when I was a boy I had loved the old bell buoy and "imagined a thousand stories about it."

From Lord John in New York by Williamson, A. M. (Alice Muriel)

As you make Paulmouth Harbor coming from seaward, on a thick day you hear the insistent tolling of the bell buoy over Bitter Reef.

From Sheila of Big Wreck Cove A Story of Cape Cod by Owen, R. Emmett (Robert Emmett)