boy
a male child, from birth to full growth, especially one less than 18 years of age.
a young man who lacks maturity, judgment, etc.
Informal. a grown man, especially when referred to familiarly: He liked to play poker with the boys.
a son: Sam's oldest boy is helping him in the business.
a male who is from or native to a given place: He's a Mississippi boy.
boys, (used with a singular or plural verb)
a range of sizes from 8 to 20 in garments made for boys.
a garment in this size range.
the department or section of a store where these garments are sold.
boys, military personnel, especially combat soldiers: Support the boys overseas.
Disparaging and Offensive. a term used to refer to or address a man considered by the speaker to be inferior in ethnicity, nationality, or occupational status.
a young male servant; page.
Offensive. (in India, China, Japan, etc.) a male servant, working as a butler, waiter, houseboy, etc.
Nautical. an apprentice seaman or fisherman.
an exclamation of wonder, approval, etc., or of displeasure or contempt.
Origin of boy
1usage note For boy
Words that may be confused with boy
- boy , buoy
Words Nearby boy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use boy in a sentence
There are several other reasons, including that oftentimes when there is an option of sending one child to school, families will send the boy.
Malala Yousafzai tells the business community: Education is the best way to guard against future crises | Michal Lev-Ram, writer | September 15, 2020 | FortuneWhen an imam refused to speak with a girl, she sent a boy from her organization in her place.
She didn’t mind that Charlie didn’t play sports as the other boys did.
Once, while volunteering in a first-grade classroom, I even accidentally kissed the wrong boy because the back of his head looked like my son’s.
His condition improved more lastingly only after his physician, Ogden Bruton, discovered that the boy had almost no gamma globulins in his blood.
Our Genes May Explain Severity of COVID-19 and Other Infections | Monique Brouillette | July 27, 2020 | Quanta Magazine
In the 90s, it kept gay men out of leadership roles in the boy Scouts of America.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic | Samantha Allen | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThis is Bey and Nicki at their most lyrically masochistic, and boy, is it a treat.
The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and More | Marlow Stern | December 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTInterviews in Serial (including ones from Adnan) do acknowledge that Jay was known as a resident bad boy at Woodlawn High School.
The Deal With Serial’s Jay? He’s Pissed Off, Mucks Up Our Timeline | Emily Shire | December 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe former Virginia governor was once the golden boy of the GOP.
A sepia photo shows him as a young boy, head in his hands, with a large book open at a bar table.
A little boy of four was moved to passionate grief at the sight of a dead dog taken from a pond.
Children's Ways | James SullyYou see, I'd always thought of him as the boy whom Great-aunt Lucia described having seen.
The Boarded-Up House | Augusta Huiell SeamanPoor Squinty ran and tried to hide under the straw, for he knew the boy was talking about him.
Squinty the Comical Pig | Richard BarnumA look of passion came into the face of the watching boy, and again he fingered his revolver.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. DunnSeveral times after this the boy and his sisters came to look down into the pig pen.
Squinty the Comical Pig | Richard Barnum
British Dictionary definitions for boy
/ (bɔɪ) /
a male child; lad; youth
a man regarded as immature or inexperienced: he's just a boy when it comes to dealing with women
See old boy
informal a group of men, esp a group of friends
usually derogatory (esp in former colonial territories) a Black person or native male servant of any age
Australian a jockey or apprentice
short for boyfriend
boys will be boys youthful indiscretion or exuberance must be expected and tolerated
jobs for the boys informal appointment of one's supporters to posts, without reference to their qualifications or ability
the boy Irish informal the right tool for a particular task: that's the boy to cut it
an exclamation of surprise, pleasure, contempt, etc: boy, is he going to be sorry!
Origin of boy
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with boy
In addition to the idiom beginning with boys
- boys will be boys
also see:
- fair-haired boy
- mama's boy
- separate the men from the boys
- whipping boy
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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