buoy
/ˈboɪ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.00 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A float moored in water to mark a location, warn of danger, indicate a navigational channel or for other purposes
noun
A float moored in water to mark a location, warn of danger, indicate a navigational channel or for other purposes
noun
A sign where the non-dominant hand is held in a stationary configuration as a landmark for meaning associations with the dominant hand.
verb
To maintain or enhance enthusiasm or confidence; to lift the spirits of.
Example Sentences
- "While comm buoys allow rapid transmission, there is a finite amount of bandwidth available. Given that trillions of people may be trying to pass a message through a given buoy at any one time, access to the network is parceled out on priority tiers."
- "Texas began deploying chains of specially designed buoys down the middle of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass to deter migrants from crossing illegally in June 2023, sparking protests from migrant activists and from the Mexican government."
- "list buoy"
- "“My Heart Will Go On” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on Feb. 28, 1998, buoying the Titanic soundtrack’s 16-week run atop the Billboard 200."
- "to buoy an anchor; to buoy or buoy off a channel"
- "Not one rock near the surface was discovered which was not buoyed by this floating weed."
Etymology
From Middle English boy, boye, from Middle Dutch boeye (“float, buoy”), from Old French boue (“piece of wood or cork that floats above an anchor to indicate where it is anchored”) (modern French bouée), ultimately from Frankish *baukn (“beacon”), from Proto-Germanic *baukną. Doublet of beacon. Alternatively, and perhaps less likely (due to the unexplained shift in meaning), from Middle Dutch boeye (“shackle, fetter”), from Old French buie (“fetter, chain”), from Latin boia (“a (leather) collar, band, fetter”), from Ancient Greek βόεος (bóeos), βόειος (bóeios, “of ox-hide”), from βοῦς (boûs, “ox”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cow”). Noun sense 2 was coined by American linguist Scott K. Lindell in 2003.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈboɪ/
- British English: /ˈbɔɪ/