plural boys
often attributive
1
a(1)
: a male child from birth to adulthood
a ten-year-old boy
(2)
: a child whose gender identity is male
Author Kyle Lukoff told Newsweek, Call Me Max and other books in the series are about a young trans boy figuring out who he is, making new friends, and sharing about himself with his family and community.—
Samantha Lock
Samantha Lock
b
: son
Even though it made them uncomfortable to have their boy talked about all over town, secretly, Nick's mom and dad were pleased.—Andrew Clements
Andrew Clements
c
: an immature male
separate the men from the boys
a boy genius
2
3
chiefly US slang
: a close male friend
Now, the receiver is getting a second chance, thanks to old friend Tom Brady. "Tom is my boy," [Antonio] Brown said Wednesday during his introductory video press conference in Tampa.—Michael Hurley
Michael Hurley4
: a male domesticated animal and especially a pet
Leo is a 2-year-old pit bull mix. … He loves receiving attention, getting pets and being told he is a good boy.—The Denver Post
The Denver PostJean Greening greets the birds in the aviary with whistles, kissing noises, and the phrase, "Who's a pretty boy?"—Current Science
Current Science5
a
dated, offensive
: a male servant or an enslaved man
b
disparaging + offensive
—used to address a man of color and especially a Black man
Note: The deeply offensive use of the word boy to address an adult man of color has a strong association with sense 5a and is a term expressive of racist condescension.
Examples of boy in a Sentence
It's a boy! She gave birth to a baby boy this morning.
a nine-year-old boy named David
Okay, boys and girls, it's time to play a game.
Is this your little boy?
That's my boy! Good job, Son.
a group of teenage boys
My parents want me to meet a nice boy and get married.
Don't be so hard on him. He's just a boy.
a poor boy from the north
Wait till the boys back home hear about this!
Recent Examples on the Web
In the good old days, that boy's mouth would have been washed out with soap.
—Mark Mondier, Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2025
As a boy, Kai’s father, Hans-Jürgen — who was the fourth of Rudolph’s five children — declined to go into much detail about Rudolph’s past with his son.
—Johnny Dodd, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
My mother worked with a lovely family who had adopted a boy and a girl.
—Kurtcia Collazo, IndyStar, 11 Oct. 2025
The boy stopped the chase after the child tripped, the other boy told deputies, according to the sheriff’s office.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2025
Meta Platforms and TikTok owner ByteDance are both facing a wrongful death lawsuit, brought by the mother of a 15-year-old Manhattan boy who died while subway surfing.
—Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Unlike previous generations of sports fans, boys like Brennan grow up rooting for the NBA and WNBA.
—Ben Pickman, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
The child, his third with the singer, joins the pair’s three-year-old son RZA and two-year-old baby boy Riot Rose.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 10 Oct. 2025
The best thing in the entire hour, of course, is Archie Beador, the goodest boy to ever shed all over Orange County.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Mark Mondier, Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2025
As a boy, Kai’s father, Hans-Jürgen — who was the fourth of Rudolph’s five children — declined to go into much detail about Rudolph’s past with his son.
—Johnny Dodd, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
My mother worked with a lovely family who had adopted a boy and a girl.
—Kurtcia Collazo, IndyStar, 11 Oct. 2025
The boy stopped the chase after the child tripped, the other boy told deputies, according to the sheriff’s office.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2025
Meta Platforms and TikTok owner ByteDance are both facing a wrongful death lawsuit, brought by the mother of a 15-year-old Manhattan boy who died while subway surfing.
—Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Unlike previous generations of sports fans, boys like Brennan grow up rooting for the NBA and WNBA.
—Ben Pickman, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
The child, his third with the singer, joins the pair’s three-year-old son RZA and two-year-old baby boy Riot Rose.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 10 Oct. 2025
The best thing in the entire hour, of course, is Archie Beador, the goodest boy to ever shed all over Orange County.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boy. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
boy
noun1
: a male child from birth to young manhood
2
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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