boy
Americannoun
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boys
plural
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a male child, from birth to full growth, especially one less than 18 years of age.
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a young man who lacks maturity, judgment, etc.
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Informal. a grown man, especially when referred to familiarly.
He liked to play poker with the boys.
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a son.
Sam's oldest boy is helping him in the business.
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a male who is from or native to a given place.
He's a Mississippi boy.
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(used with a singular or plural verb) boys,
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a range of sizes from 8 to 20 in garments made for boys.
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a garment in this size range.
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the department or section of a store where these garments are sold.
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boys, military personnel, especially combat soldiers.
Support the boys overseas.
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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.
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a young male servant; page.
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Offensive. (in India, China, Japan, etc.) a male servant, working as a butler, waiter, houseboy, etc.
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Nautical. an apprentice seaman or fisherman.
interjection
noun
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a male child; lad; youth
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a man regarded as immature or inexperienced
he's just a boy when it comes to dealing with women
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See old boy
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informal a group of men, esp a group of friends
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derogatory (esp in former colonial territories) a Black person or native male servant of any age
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a jockey or apprentice
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short for boyfriend
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youthful indiscretion or exuberance must be expected and tolerated
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informal appointment of one's supporters to posts, without reference to their qualifications or ability
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informal the right tool for a particular task
that's the boy to cut it
interjection
Sensitive Note
During the slavery and Jim Crow eras, white southerners would use the term boy to refer to or address a Black adult male, implying that Black people were inferior. In the meaning “native male servant,” boy was originally used in colonial territories and in the ports of China, Japan, etc., through which trade with foreign countries was permitted by special treaty.
Usage
Where does the word boy come from? Like girl, boy dates back to around 1250–1300. Also like the word girl, the ultimate origin of the word boy is obscure. There are some clues to the roots of boy, however. It might be based on the Old English Bōia, a male given name. Furthermore, boy is related to the Frisian boi, "young man," and the German Bube, "knave, boy, lad." (Frisian, a language spoken in the northern Netherlands, is the Germanic language most closely related to English.) Interestingly, that German sense of "knave" is close in meaning to “male servant,” one of the earliest uses of boy. Boy isn't alone: it finds lots of company in other English words that seem simple but whose origins are not. Discover more in our slideshow “‘Dog,’ ‘Boy,’ And Other Words That We Don’t Know Where They Came From."
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of boy
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English boy(e), perhaps after Old English Bōia a man's name; cognate with Frisian boi “young man”; akin to Old English bōfa, Old Norse bōfi, Old High German Buobo a man's name ( German Bube “knave” (dialectal “boy, lad”)
Explanation
A boy is a male child. When a baby is born, the doctor or midwife often says, "It's a girl!" or "It's a boy!" A boy usually grows up to be a man, just as a girl most often becomes a woman. A delivery boy is a young man whose job involves taking pizzas to people's homes, and you might call to your dog, "Here, boy!" unless your dog is female. Boy is also an exclamation: "Oh boy! I can't wait for my vacation next week!" The Old English root is boie, "boy," but also "servant" or "commoner."
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.
See Examples For:
The earlier “Insidious” films benefited from the magnetism of Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, who played the concerned parents of a young boy who fell into the Further’s clutches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
She, in turn, is pursuing custody of the boy, whom the couple have named Rumi.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
But this treatment carried a high risk of the boy contracting anaemia, which could require an urgent blood transfusion in order to avoid death.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
A third boy - who was 15 at the time and cannot be identified for legal reasons - was detained for at least 14 years.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Don Quixote learned that the man owed the boy some back pay, so he figured out how much it was and, menacing the man with his lance, ordered the farmer to pay what he owed.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
Diana had made her two cherished boys promise to always stand by one other, but almost 30 years after her death they are no longer talking.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Both boys were from Jehovah's Witness families, who follow strict Biblical rules, and they refused consent to blood transfusions.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
I learned that he’s a proud father of two boys and a girl, and two dogs named Nipsey and Scrap, whom he affectionately calls his “babies.”
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
The competitive dancer has two boys — 5-year-old Leo and 3-year-old Jet — with husband Carson McAllister.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
In the last couple of weeks, Ma, the boys, and I had managed to rearrange the entire store.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
