Boas

American

[boh-az] / ˈboʊ æz /

noun

Franz 1858–1942, U.S. anthropologist, born in Germany.

Boas British

/ ˈboːas, ˈbəʊæz /

noun

Franz (frants). 1858–1942, US anthropologist, born in Germany. He made major contributions to cultural and linguistic anthropology in studies of North American Indians, including The Mind of Primitive Man (1911; 1938)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Boas Scientific

/ bō′ăz /

German-born American anthropologist who emphasized the systematic analysis of culture and language structures.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Zora Neale Hurston was a student of the anthropologist Franz Boas, and her fieldwork in rural Florida informs this novel of passionate love and tempestuous weather.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026

Boas agreed that access to retirement accounts alone isn’t enough.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

“This is a big moment for retirement. Federal action to address the access gap is something huge,” said KC Boas, the retirement-savings initiative lead at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

Mr Boas would sometimes have hallucinations, leading to odd questions such as: "Is it possible I just saw a dog on the tennis court?"

From BBC • Sep. 11, 2024

If customers should want Kolinski Boas, Kolinski Boas would of course be forthcoming,—to any number required; either Kolinski Boas, or quasi Kolinski, which in trade is admitted to be the same thing.

From The Struggles of Brown, Jones, and Robinson By One of the Firm by Trollope, Anthony

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023