buoy

American  

[boo-ee, boi] / ˈbu i, bɔɪ /

noun

• buoys
  plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

• buoys,
  present (3rd person singular)
• buoyed,
  past participle,  past
• buoying
  present participle

1. to keep afloat or support by or as if by a life buoy; keep from sinking (often followed byup ).

   The life jacket buoyed her up until help arrived.

2. Nautical. to mark with a buoy or buoys.

3. to sustain or encourage (often followed byup ).

   Her courage was buoyed by the doctor's assurances.

   Synonyms:

   nurture, maintain, lighten, boost, uplift, lift

verb (used without object)

• buoys,
  present (3rd person singular)
• buoyed,
  past participle,  past
• buoying
  present participle

1. to float or rise by reason of lightness.

buoy British  

/ ˈbuːɪ, bɔɪ /

noun

1. a distinctively shaped and coloured float, anchored to the bottom, for designating moorings, navigable channels, or obstructions in a body of water See also life buoy

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verb

1. to prevent from sinking

   the belt buoyed him up

2. to raise the spirits of; hearten

3. (tr) nautical to mark (a channel or obstruction) with a buoy or buoys

4. (intr) to rise to the surface

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• buoys
  plural

Participles

• buoying
  present
• buoyed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• buoy
  simple
• buoys
  simple
• have buoyed
  perfect
• has buoyed
  perfect
• am buoying
  progressive
• are buoying
  progressive
• is buoying
  progressive
• have been buoying
  perfect progressive
• has been buoying
  perfect progressive

Past

• buoyed
  simple
• had buoyed
  perfect
• was buoying
  progressive
• were buoying
  progressive
• had been buoying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will buoy
  simple
• will have buoyed
  perfect
• will be buoying
  progressive
• will have been buoying
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of buoy

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English boye “a float,” from unattested Middle French boie, boue(e), from Germanic; akin to beacon

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Explanation

A buoy is a floating marker that indicates the presence of underwater hazards, channels, or places for tying up boats. When buoy is a verb, it can mean to float like a buoy, literally or figuratively. Winning an award could buoy your spirits as if you are floating with pride. The verb buoy can mean "boost or increase." There aren't many things that will buoy your confidence as much as repeated compliments on how great your new haircut looks. Imagine seeing water buoy up an enormous swan, or the wind buoy up a kite. A more figurative meaning of buoy is to cheer or lift someone's spirits. One way to remember buoy's unusual spelling is the phrase, "Boats usually opt to steer around a buoy."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

buoy buoys buoyed buoying

Now that investors have been able to dive further into Anthropic’s IPO filing, they’re seeing the same sorts of trends that helped buoy AI stocks for much of this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

There’s an understandable temptation to let the fantasy buoy the film.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026

Of course, Anthropic’s reasons for going public wouldn’t be to buoy stock-market sentiment toward AI.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

The UK government said on Tuesday that national museums would remain free for foreign visitors, after previously floating the idea of charging tourists an entry fee to buoy the cash-strapped sector.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

They paused to regard a cracked wooden buoy painted blue and white, shaped like an old parasol.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

"We spotted life buoys and a lifeboat but it was empty. Unfortunately, no survivors have been found so far," he said, indicating that search and rescue operations were ongoing.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

“The Jewish community sort of buoys him up and brings him back,” O’Brien said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Scientists monitoring data from satellites and ocean buoys declared the onset of El Niño in June.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

They installed special sensitive habitat marker buoys to highlight seagrass areas in Looe Bay and protect the "remarkable" habitat, said the trust's Eden Stevens.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

There were several more trips out to sea, but almost none without something going wrong, and once, not following the channel marker buoys, the Warden ran the Lady Gin aground.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

The Diablos beat San Juan Hills 54-44 in an epic Orange County shootout to secure its third consecutive Alpha League crown, buoyed by a bevy of explosive plays.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

It was buoyed by the ongoing success of Google Cloud, where revenue grew by 103% to almost $31bn.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Seoul's Kospi stock index opened more than four percent higher on Tuesday, buoyed by a Wall Street rally and revived optimism over the AI boom.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

Many, like 41-year-old Kunal Berry, are buoyed by the success of the artificial-intelligence trade and optimistic about the technology’s potential to transform business and the economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

But her work was getting results, and that buoyed her up.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

The dollar pulled back from multi-month highs in the last session, buoying bitcoin, which neared $86,000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Also on the BIS list were concerns over the longevity of the artificial intelligence investment boom, which has been buoying global growth and keeping it going through crises like last year's tariff hikes.

From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026

Extraordinary demand for memory in the artificial-intelligence era is buoying the stock.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

An improving labor market is buoying homebuyer demand, Redfin says, which is keeping home price growth afloat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026

In buoying me up, reading also cast me down, made me see what was possible, what I had missed.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

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