life buoy

life buoy noun: a buoyant object (most commonly torus-shaped) that is used as a life-saving device by keeping a person afloat.

Noun

life buoy (plural life buoys)

(UK) A buoyant object (most commonly torus-shaped) that is used as a life-saving device by keeping a person afloat.
- A spherical life buoy having an air chamber formed therein, an entrance opening communicating with the interior of said life buoy, air inlet and exhaust pipes extending exteriorly therof, a perforated housing for each of said pipes, a dome secured to teh periphery of said life buoy and covering...1910, Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office
- At least four approved ring life buoys shall be placed on each manned platform.1981, Compilation of Regulations Related to Mineral Resource Activities
Synonyms:

life preserver, life ring, lifesaver, safety buoy, life belt
(UK, figuratively) Something that rescues one from difficulties.
- Fearing that he might become permanently sewn into the Air France uniform he put on every morning, Manuel regarded Mario's faith in him as a life buoy.2001, Suzanne Jill Levine, Manuel Puig and the Spider Woman: His Life and Fictions, page 166
- Above all, the Marshall Plan was a life buoy for the then sinking French economy.2006, Peter van Kemseke, Towards an Era of Development, page 43

உயிர்க்காவன்மிதவை

Also, a life buoy was attached to the fuselage.2007, Daniel E. Blaney, Old Orchard Beach:
He had on a life buoy and a life preserver.2012, Jay Henry Mowbray, Sinking of the Titanic: Eyewitness Accounts:
I but pity him, who, losing me, found the bright stars dimmed, And frantically seized you as a life buoy.2008, Fleur Yano, Collected Writings of Flora Belle Jan, page 89:
My shopping cart became my life buoy as I hung on to it and stubbornly kept going.2012, Holly Reese, Rising from the Abyss, page 116:

From life + buoy.

What does life buoy mean?: Life buoy means a buoyant object (most commonly torus-shaped) that is used as a life-saving device by keeping a person afloat.
What is life buoy in Tamil?: Life buoy in Tamil is உயிர்க்காவன்மிதவை. See Life buoy meaning in Tamil.
How do you use life buoy in a sentence?: Also, a life buoy was attached to the fuselage.
What part of speech is life buoy?: Life buoy is a noun.
What is the plural of life buoy?: The plural of life buoy is life buoys.

Adapted from Wiktionary: life buoy (page history and authors); life buoy (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “life buoy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/life_buoy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.