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.
(lowercase) a member of any similar society elsewhere.
(lowercase) a person whose deeds, obliging personality, idealism, etc., exceed normal expectations.
See Scout
informal an apparently virtuous and innocent person
Use of boy scout to mean “someone who is obliging and idealistic” usually implies that the person is naive or unworldly.
First recorded in 1905–10
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In August, a boy scout troop hiking in the Emigrant Wilderness north of Yosemite National Park came upon a 78-year old man who had spent a night without food, water or shelter in the mountains.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2025
The former boy scout said many people are wondering how they would’ve fared in the situation, and what they could do to prepare for something similar.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 29, 2022
But for Buzz, a lantern-jawed boy scout with a penchant for dramatically narrating his mission logs, moving on with his life would be tantamount to admitting failure — something he refuses to do.
From The Verge • Jun. 18, 2022
Canteen Boy is a neighborhood pariah of indeterminate age — a pedantic boy scout old enough to walk around the neighborhood alone but naïve enough to not realize he is the butt of every joke.
From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2019
So, because of my brother, whose existence was not even acknowledged, I had to be a good boy scout.
From "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz
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.
