from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Buoy \Buoy\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Buoyed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Buoying}.]
1. To keep from sinking in a fluid, as in water or air; to
keep afloat; -- with up.
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2. To support or sustain; to preserve from sinking into ruin
or despondency.
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Those old prejudices, which buoy up the ponderous
mass of his nobility, wealth, and title. --Burke.
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3. To fix buoys to; to mark by a buoy or by buoys; as, to
buoy an anchor; to buoy or buoy off a channel.
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Not one rock near the surface was discovered which
was not buoyed by this floating weed. --Darwin.
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