sonobuoy

[son-uh-boo-e, -boi]

noun

Navigation.

1. a buoy that emits a radio signal on receiving an underwater signal from a vessel.

sonobuoy

/ ˈsəʊnəˌbɔɪ /

noun

1. a buoy equipped to detect underwater noises and transmit them by radio

Word History and Origins

Origin of sonobuoy¹

First recorded in 1940–45; sono- + buoy

Word History and Origins

Origin of sonobuoy¹

from _sonic + _buoy

Example Sentences

The team initially assumed the device was part of a navigational marker, but later suspected it resembled a sonobuoy - an acoustic monitoring device, often used to detect submarines.

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An independent defence analyst said he was "confident" the recovered object was an imploded Russian RGB-1A sonobuoy.

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A sonobuoy is a combination of the words sonar and buoy and is an acoustic sensor used to detect underwater objects such as submarines.

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The discovery of the sonobuoy came in the same week UK Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed the Russian vessel Yantar had been operating on the edge of UK waters.

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“There’s lots of things in the ocean that will make noise and be heard on a sonobuoy, but there are few things that will sound like regular banging on metal,” he said.

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