Definition of buoy

< bunyip

buoyance >

buoy    (b, boi) KEY 

NOUN:

1. A float moored in water to mark a location, warn of danger, or indicate a navigational channel.
2. A life buoy.

TRANSITIVE VERB:
buoyed, buoy·ing, buoys

1. To keep afloat or aloft: a glider buoyed by air currents.
2. 1. To maintain at a high level; support: "the persistent ... takeover speculation, which has buoyed up the shares of banks" (Financial Times).
   2. To hearten or inspire; uplift: "buoyed up by the team spirit and the pride of the older generation back at home" (Judith Martin).
3. To mark with or as if with a buoy.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English boie, from Old French boue, probably of Germanic origin; see bh-¹ in Indo-European roots