buoyed

[boo-eed, boid]

adjective

1. Nautical.,  marked with buoys, or distinctively marked floats.

   A buoyed channel guides ships into the inner lagoon.

   Swimming and snorkeling are restricted to the buoyed swimming area.

2. Nautical.,  made to float or rise in water by means of attached buoys or floats.

   To haul a trap, the lobsterman catches hold of the buoyed trap line with a gaff hook and hauls it up by hand.

3. sustained, encouraged, or supported.

   A buoyed Scotland team began the second half with renewed optimism.

   Following the win, the buoyed opposition leader attacked the chief minister, saying he should immediately tender his resignation.

4. enhanced or increased.

   Boston is really on a roll in 2017, with the greatest football team in the world, a buoyed economy, and packed streets and hotels.

   Despite buoyed expectations, experts nevertheless admit that the country is still lacking the means to fully realize its ambitious goals.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of buoy.

Other Word Forms

• unbuoyed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of buoyed¹

buoy ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Around 152,000 more cars were shipped than in the same quarter a year earlier, buoyed by the company’s normalized inventory position.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But he was already buoyed by feedback at professional auditions.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Those factors buoyed gold, perhaps the original refuge from market tumult, pushing most-actively traded futures past $3,000 a troy ounce in March for the first time.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Halfway across the buoyed perimeter of the swim area I climbed up on the wooden float, like the beaches of my childhood.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

His supporters, unsurprisingly, have been buoyed by both his jokes and his unbowed tone.

Read more on BBC