Billy the Kid

American  

noun

1. William H. Bonney, 1859–81, U.S. outlaw.

2. (italics) a ballet (1938) choreographed by Eugene Loring, with musical score by Aaron Copland.

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Billy the Kid British  

noun

1. nickname of William H. Bonney . 1859–81, US outlaw

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Billy the Kid Cultural  

1. An outlaw of the late nineteenth century in New Mexico, who claimed to have killed over twenty people; he was gunned down himself at age twenty-one. His real name is uncertain.

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Example Sentences

"These people took the money just as though they were John Dillinger or Billy the Kid," he said.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026

No doubt there's a long history of Americans romanticizing criminals, going back at least to Jesse James or Billy the Kid, who became icons of the Wild West.

From Salon • May 31, 2024

The series is loosely — very loosely — based on a real robber named Dick Turpin, an English outlaw not unlike Jesse James or Billy the Kid.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2024

In this sense, it’s logical that Billy the Kid should ride again.

From New York Times • Apr. 21, 2022

“And then there’s Jesse James, and then there’s Billy the Kid, and then there’s Doc Holliday, and then there’s...”

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly