Illustration of buoy
- buoy 1
buoyed; buoying; buoys
1
: to mark by or as if by a float or buoy
buoy an anchor
2
3
: to raise the spirits of
—usually used with up
hope buoys him up
: float
—usually used with up
They buoyed up like a cork.
Examples of buoy in a Sentence
Verb
The tax breaks should help to buoy the economy.
Recent Examples on the Web
Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
After a few days’ travel, some of the specks landed on a buoy floating in the North Atlantic off the coast of French Guyana.
—Zack Savitsky, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Barry Levitt, Time, 19 Sep. 2025
These lucrative fees heavily buoy the profits of companies such as Nexstar, which means dwindling pay-TV customers cuts into broadcast profits.
—Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for buoy
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Noun
The rescuers then deployed a large buoy to allow closer access for cutting the lines.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
After a few days’ travel, some of the specks landed on a buoy floating in the North Atlantic off the coast of French Guyana.
—Zack Savitsky, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Verb
Swiped has an electric, relentless momentum buoyed by rapid pacing and a lively score from composer Chanda Dancy.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 19 Sep. 2025
These lucrative fees heavily buoy the profits of companies such as Nexstar, which means dwindling pay-TV customers cuts into broadcast profits.
—Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for buoy
Cite this Entry
“Buoy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/buoy. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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