water boy

American  

noun

1. 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.

2. a person who sees that livestock is supplied with water, as by filling water troughs.

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Etymology

Origin of water boy

First recorded in 1630–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

water boy

He drove the golf carts, acted as a water boy, and looked like he had a blast.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 2, 2023

Jonathan Ogden of St. Albans may be the best football player the region ever produced, but he played offensive tackle, a position about as likely to win the Heisman as water boy.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 9, 2022

Todd Haley, who would go on to become an NFL head coach, was a Steelers water boy in that game, as his father, Dick, was the team’s top personnel executive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2022

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

Rowdy was our star quarterback and kicker and middle linebacker, and I was the loser water boy, and we lost to Reardan by the score of 45-0.

From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie