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 • Dec. 23, 2025

He still plays videogame marathons with a fellow former Boy Scout, Demitri Camperos, whose parents lost the Altadena home where he grew up in the fires.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 13, 2025

Trinkets from his Boy Scout days, winter sweaters for the dogs, and $60 worth of food were among his missing belongings.

From Slate • Oct. 8, 2025

The on-screen Blue Boy Scout conveyed a Smallville-bred sense of humility throughout, saying he almost didn’t take the role of Superman for fear of being too busy to help with a newborn.

From Salon • Jul. 13, 2025

Nor were they at the baseball field or the basketball court or the tennis courts or the World War I cannon or the playground or the Boy Scout cabin or the picnic area.

From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli