buoy
verb/bɔɪ/
/ˈbuːi/, /bɔɪ/
[usually passive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they buoy | /bɔɪ/ /ˈbuːi/, /bɔɪ/ |
| he / she / it buoys | /bɔɪz/ /ˈbuːiz/, /bɔɪz/ |
| past simple buoyed | /bɔɪd/ /ˈbuːid/, /bɔɪd/ |
| past participle buoyed | /bɔɪd/ /ˈbuːid/, /bɔɪd/ |
| -ing form buoying | /ˈbɔɪɪŋ/ /ˈbuːiɪŋ/, /ˈbɔɪɪŋ/ |
- buoy somebody (up) to make somebody feel cheerful or confident
- Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success.
- Knowing that all her friends were there buoyed up her spirits.
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- buoy somebody/something (up) to keep somebody/something floating on water
- The raft was buoyed (up) by empty petrol cans.
- buoy something (up) to keep prices at a high or acceptable level
- Trading on Wall Street was buoyed in part by rising bond prices.
Word OriginMiddle English: probably from Middle Dutch boye, boeie, from a Germanic base meaning ‘signal’. The verb is from Spanish boyar ‘to float’, from boya ‘buoy’.
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buoy