homeboy
Americannoun
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homeboys
plural
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a person from the same locality as oneself.
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a close friend or fellow gang member.
noun
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a close friend
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a person from one's home town or neighbourhood
Usage
What does homeboy mean? Homeboy is a slang term for a close male friend. It can refer to a boy or a man. The word homegirl is used in the same way to refer to a close female friend. Shortened, gender-neutral versions of these terms include homie and homey, which are perhaps even more commonly used. All of these terms can be used to refer to a friend, as in This is my homeboy Russel, or as a term of address for one, as in Hey, homeboy! These terms are all associated with urban and hip hop culture and are primarily used by members of African American and Latinx communities in the U. S. They commonly refer to a close friend who’s from the same neighborhood. In some cases, the words are used to refer to a fellow gang member. However, the terms have entered mainstream use and usually simply refer to a close friend. Homeboy is frequently used with a possessive pronoun, as in my homeboy. Example: I’m having a night out with just me and my homeboys.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of homeboy
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.
See Examples For:
“I remembered my homeboy that lived in the neighborhood. I had to go through some woods to his house with the album,” he said.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 7, 2023
Spanto also included his L.A. folks, like the actor Richard Cabral and his homeboy, Sleepy Joe, who just got out of prison after 30 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2023
Dave has created, with his Day 1 homeboy, some of the most celebrated music videos of the last decade and earned the bona fides to prove it.
From New York Times ● Dec. 27, 2022
“It literally sounds like you’re watching the game, chillin’ with your homeboy from up the street.”
From Washington Post ● Sep. 18, 2020
We all knew, that no matter what, I wasn’t going to rat on my homeboy.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
I played that spot more than the employees, initially rolling solo, then bringing all the homeboys.
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2023
“I just remember me and my homeboys getting in the car and going to down to Canal Street,” Mathieu said.
From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2022
One of his homeboys who was back from college called up.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 4, 2019
The boy said none of his homeboys had been carrying weapons that winter day.
From New York Times ● Nov. 20, 2016
He, like me, was brought up to believe that you don’t rat on your homeboys.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
