“Boy” or “Buoy”—Which to use?

“Boy” or “Buoy”

Overview

boy / buoy are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

boy: (noun) a friendly informal reference to a grown man. (noun) (ethnic slur) offensive and disparaging term for Black man.

buoy: (noun) bright-colored; a float attached by rope to the seabed to mark channels in a harbor or underwater hazards. (verb) float on the surface of water. (verb) keep afloat. (verb) mark with a buoy.

Pronunciation

boy: b·OY

buoy: b·UW·iy

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Examples in Context

Examples of “boy”

"The Crying Game" (Boy George solo track)
…sparring, he inadvertently strikes the boy too hard.
"Jet Boy" - New York Dolls
is a young boy from Earth.
Game Boy
…album also contains three solo Boy George tracks.
…Big Bear entrusted the young boy with Koguma Kyutama, giving Big…
…June 14, 1994, by Big Boy Records.
…Love (The Timewriter Bootleg Mix)" (Boy George solo track) (UK edition
She meets a boy named Jerry who slowly convinces…

Examples of “buoy”

…Bahrain it struck a harbor buoy and sustained between $200,000 and…
A buoy off the coast of Nova…
Late on July 3, a buoy reported sustained winds of 38…
…in the art district Trinity Buoy Wharf.
…and to place a warning buoy into orbit, so any other…
Trinity Buoy Wharf, London (September 2010)
…is the delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB) with a reel or…

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

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