Boy Scout

American  

noun

1. a member of an organization of boys BoyScouts, founded in England in 1908 by Lieutenant General Sir Robert S. S. Baden-Powell, that seeks to develop certain skills in its members, as well as character, self-reliance, and usefulness to others.

2. (lowercase) a member of any similar society elsewhere.

3. (lowercase) a person whose deeds, obliging personality, idealism, etc., exceed normal expectations.

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boy scout British  

noun

1. See Scout

2. informal an apparently virtuous and innocent person

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Sensitive Note

Use of boy scout to mean “someone who is obliging and idealistic” usually implies that the person is naive or unworldly.

Etymology

Origin of Boy Scout

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

All you have to do is be a Boy Scout and plan for the worst, which we did.

From Los Angeles Times

But he kept in touch with fellow Boy Scouts in the neighborhood.

From The Wall Street Journal

It was a long fall for the mall, which opened in 1977, featuring performances by the Hawthorne High School Band and a local Boy Scout color guard.

From Los Angeles Times

This is how he ended up telling a crowd of Boy Scouts that he used to know William Levitt, a prominent 20th century real estate developer none of them know about.

From Salon

At first, Charlie Hey, 12, didn’t think much of it when his Boy Scout troop passed an elderly man standing at the edge of a trail deep in the Emigrant Wilderness.

From Los Angeles Times