Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun buoy

1 sense of buoy

Sense 1
buoy -- (bright-colored; a float attached by rope to the seabed to mark channels in a harbor or underwater hazards)
       => reference point, point of reference, reference -- (an indicator that orients you generally; "it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved")

Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb buoy

3 senses of buoy

Sense 1
buoy -- (float on the surface of water)
       => float, swim -- (be afloat either on or below a liquid surface and not sink to the bottom)

Sense 2
buoy, buoy up -- (keep afloat; "The life vest buoyed him up")
       => hold, support, sustain, hold up -- (be the physical support of; carry the weight of; "The beam holds up the roof"; "He supported me with one hand while I balanced on the beam"; "What's holding that mirror?")

Sense 3
buoy -- (mark with a buoy)
       => mark -- (designate as if by a mark; "This sign marks the border")