Definition of 'buoy'
Word forms: buoys, buoying, buoyed
1. countable noun
A buoy is a floating object that is used to show ships and boats where they can go and to
warn them of danger.
2. transitive verb
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
buoy
Word Frequency
buoy in American English
noun
1.
a.
2.
verb transitive
3.
to mark or provide with a buoy
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
ME < (? via MDu boeie) OFr buie, chain < L boia, fetter (see boy): prob. first applied to the chain anchoring the float
Word Frequency
buoy in American English
(ˈbuːi, bɔi)
noun
1. Nautical
2.
a life buoy
transitive verb
3. (often fol. by up)
to keep afloat or support by or as if by a life buoy; keep from sinking
The life jacket buoyed her up until help arrived
4. Nautical
to mark with a buoy or buoys
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1425–75; late ME boye a float ‹ MF *boie, boue(e) ‹ Gmc; akin to beacon]Word Frequency
buoy in British English
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 buoyverb
4. (transitive) nautical
to mark (a channel or obstruction) with a buoy or buoys
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C13: probably of Germanic origin; compare Middle Dutch boeie, boeye; see beaconExamples of 'buoy' in a sentence
buoy
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In other languages
buoy
British English: buoy
/bɔɪ/ NOUN
A buoy is a floating object that shows ships and boats where they can go and warns them of danger.
- American English: buoy /ˈbui/
- Arabic: عَوّامَة للإِرْشاد
- Brazilian Portuguese: bóia
- Chinese: 浮标
- Croatian: plovak
- Czech: bóje
- Danish: bøje afmærkning
- Dutch: boei
- European Spanish: boya
- Finnish: poiju
- French: bouée
- German: Boje
- Greek: σημαδούρα
- Italian: boa
- Japanese: ブイ
- Korean: 부표
- Norwegian: bøye
- Polish: boja
- European Portuguese: bóia
- Romanian: baliză
- Russian: буй
- Spanish: boya
- Swedish: boj
- Thai: ทุ่น
- Turkish: şamandıra
- Ukrainian: буй
- Vietnamese: phao
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buoy
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Definition of buoy from the Collins English Dictionary
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