bad boy

noun

: a person who flouts convention
a literary bad boy

Example Sentences

He has become known as the bad boy of the American television industry.
Recent Examples on the Web Following a deadly crash, bad boy race car driver Cliff Steele's (Fraser) brain is implanted into a clunky robot body by the morally ambiguous scientist Niles Caulder (Timothy Dalton). Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 14 Mar. 2023 Combined with a devilishly charming highlight intro (that gets even funnier when paired with his other skins), Hanzo gets elevated from smoldering bad boy to Pedro-Pascal-level heartthrob. WIRED, 13 Feb. 2023 Leviss was at one time engaged to British bad boy DJ James Kennedy, but according to US Weekly, tensions arose following a Thanksgiving trip. Lauren Sanchez, Vogue, 7 Mar. 2023 The heartthrob with dimples for days starred on the soap opera from 1994 to 1996, playing resident bad boy Matt Clark. Andrea Wurzburger, Peoplemag, 26 Jan. 2023 Even the debut episode, which is built around tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios and his career-long struggle to handle massive expectations, does not address the numerous on- and off-court run-ins he’s had with competitors over the years. Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 15 Jan. 2023 You'll be obsessed with how easily this bad boy will add polish to your more neutral outfits. Hannah Oh, Seventeen, 23 Feb. 2023 Sonoran hot dogs are typically priced between $3.50 and $5, but this bad boy clocks in at $18 with no sides, not even a bulb onion or one of those roasted yellow chile güeros that set your mouth on fire. Andi Berlin, The Arizona Republic, 7 July 2021 Will Smith was a bad boy at the Oscars, but that won't kill the Bad Boys franchise. Brendan Morrow, The Week, 31 Jan. 2023 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bad boy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bad boy was in 1860

Dictionary Entries Near bad boy

Cite this Entry

“Bad boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bad%20boy. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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