boyfriend
Americanadjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
“But if I’m going to be a partner in a law firm by the time I’m 30, I need a boyfriend who’s not such a complete bonehead.”
From Salon • Jul. 6, 2026
Sasha and her boyfriend Tom, 31, would prefer to spend their money exploring the world.
From BBC • Jun. 28, 2026
The doting boyfriend, the overzealous best friend, the snide coworker, the absentee mother — played here by Kristen Johnston, whose character’s name is ingeniously spelled “Beverlee.”
From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026
David Puddy, Elaine’s on-and-off boyfriend in “Seinfeld,” famously attended a New Jersey Devils hockey game with a bright red “D” painted on his chest because you’ve “gotta support the team.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 21, 2026
I probably shouldn’t tell Arnold that I heard Kathy on the phone with her boyfriend, Kurt.
From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen
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.
