can buoy

American  

noun

1. a cylindrical, unlighted buoy used as a channel marker.

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can buoy British  

noun

1. nautical a buoy with a flat-topped cylindrical shape above water, marking the left side of a channel leading into a harbour: red in British waters but green (occasionally black) in US waters Compare nun buoy

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Etymology

Origin of can buoy

First recorded in 1620–30

Example Sentences

By buying Exact Sciences and its series of cancer tests that generate about $3 billion in annual revenue, Abbott can buoy its own diagnostics business.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 20, 2025

But his mother hopes that his love of learning can buoy him through this difficult period.

From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2021

Profits from international operations can buoy the stock in the home market even if "home" profits aren't doing so well because the "home" economy is underperforming.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2015

But how it will play in the real Paris, Texas, and whether or not it can buoy Coach's sagging profits, is another matter.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 4, 2014

"Salt water skims off Archie same's if he was a white bellied gull; can't drown him no more'n you kin a can buoy."

From Tides of Barnegat by Smith, Francis Hopkinson