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houseboy

American  
[haus-boi] / ˈhaʊsˌbɔɪ /

noun

  1. houseman.


houseboy British  
/ ˈhaʊsˌbɔɪ /

noun

  1. a male domestic servant

"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

Etymology

Origin of houseboy

First recorded in 1895–1900; house + boy


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:

My grandfather, who went by Stewart, had worked as a houseboy in Menlo Park, moved on to farming and later opened a grocery store in Sacramento.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026

Once in London, however, he had to sleep on Dr Obeta's sofa and says the doctor used him as a houseboy.

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2023

Michener became a houseboy of sorts for the Swopes and built them a greenhouse.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 4, 2018

But his learning lies fallow—he writes nothing, publishes nothing—and his houseboy calls him “the Great Darkness” for his ability to absorb the splendors of English literature without emitting any light of his own.

From Slate ● Jan. 9, 2015

Old Deerfoot, a houseboy in a mansion a few blocks away from us, came over one day.

From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep

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