water boy
Americannoun
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a person who carries a canteen or bucket of drinking water to those too occupied to fetch it, as to soldiers, laborers, or football players.
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a person who sees that livestock is supplied with water, as by filling water troughs.
Etymology
Origin of water boy
First recorded in 1630–40
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 water boy couldn’t find anything to drink.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2025
He drove the golf carts, acted as a water boy, and looked like he had a blast.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 2, 2023
Unable to play football, he was the team’s water boy.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 12, 2023
When he was 12, Mr. Poitier quit school and became a water boy for a crew of pick-and-shovel laborers.
From New York Times ● Jan. 7, 2022
I looked back at Dad and told him calmly, “I’m not a water boy, Dad. I’m not a team manager. I’m a player.”
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
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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.
