altar boy

American  

noun

altar boys plural

1. a male altar server.

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altar boy British  

noun

1. RC Church Church of England a boy serving as an acolyte

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• altar boys
  plural

Etymology

Origin of altar boy

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

altar boy

A former altar boy, he grew up as one of seven children in Nairobi informal settlements, and his parents scraped together enough to send him to school and university, where he studied criminology.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

“I was raised a Catholic, was an altar boy, and at 14 I seriously considered becoming a priest,” Wilson told The Times in 1986.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2026

Scorsese grew up in New York’s Little Italy as a Catholic altar boy and aspiring priest who was also fascinated by the mafiosos that loomed large in his community.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

The church where Pope Leo XIV attended mass as a child and served as an altar boy is now an empty shell.

From BBC ● May 8, 2025

Dad says the altar boy robes will cover the clothes and she says we don’t have the money for robes and the wash they need every week.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt