boyfriend
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of boyfriend
Explanation
A boyfriend is a male romantic partner. Your cousin might ask if she can bring her boyfriend to the family Thanksgiving dinner this year. Usually, your boyfriend is a boy or man you're romantically involved with. Your aunt might join a dating site after breaking up with her boyfriend, and your ten year old neighbor might announce she has a boyfriend after a boy leaves a candy bar on her desk. The words boyfriend and girlfriend first appeared in the early 1900s, around the start of modern dating in the US.
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.
The teenager claimed that her boyfriend had gone up alone to the sand dune where the trio were, but Turley was not there initially.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
The department said its investigation revealed that Marquez, a Hawthorne resident, is a former boyfriend of Fernandez and waited for her near her workplace.
From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026
Edith learned that Eric, her teenage boyfriend, had died in Auschwitz.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
In a 2018 video for Vogue Australia, Palvin shared that Sprouse was her first boyfriend in six years and described him as a “perfect guy” who is “very kind and gentle.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
Annabeth was pretty sure her boyfriend had just made a big mistake.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
