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Synonyms

boyhood

American  
[boi-hood] / ˈbɔɪ hʊd /

noun

  1. the state or period of being a boy.

    Boyhood is a happy time of life.

  2. boys collectively.

    the boyhood of America.
boyhood British  
/ ˈbɔɪhʊd /

noun

  1. the state or time of being a boy

    his boyhood was happy
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • preboyhood noun

Etymology

Origin of boyhood

First recorded in 1735–45; boy + -hood

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.

It’s an evolving boyhood, framed with unshowy elegance by cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub against the island’s flat, grassy, weather-rich horizons.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

Once we’ve shaken hands on this unavoidable tension, we can wrestle with Antoine Fuqua’s “Michael,” an open-hearted biopic of Jackson, extending from his boyhood in Gary, Ind., to the late-’80s tour for “Bad.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

Mike Piazza, the slugger expensively coached from boyhood in the modern manner, saw “the silver spoons of his youth smelted into the first of ten consecutive Silver Slugger awards.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

The ex-England striker played a key role in bringing the Premier League title to Blackburn Rovers before joining his boyhood club Newcastle - despite interest from Manchester United.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

I fell in love at The Mecca one last time, lost my balance and all my boyhood confusion, under the spell of a girl from Chicago.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

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.