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
Viola disguises herself as a boy named Cesario and becomes a servant to Duke Orsino (Khris Davis).
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2025
Howard starred as the all-American boy next door Richie Cunningham for the first seven seasons of the series, returning in a guest capacity in the final season.
—Carson Blackwelder, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Huston adapted the book himself — the first of three featuring the Hank Thompson character — tailoring Hank’s personality slightly to suit Butler’s ambivalent-golden-boy energy.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 24 Aug. 2025
Since there was no physical evidence to link these four boys to the crime scene, the case remains unsolved.
—Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 24 Aug. 2025
Sitting in front of the television screen, a 4-year-old Ben Ford watched in awe as the Boise State Broncos pulled off the type of football move that a young boy from Idaho had probably never seen before.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 24 Aug. 2025
According to his biography, Caprio came from humble beginnings, the second of three boys growing up in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2025
Other boys dreamed of being footballers, doctors, soldiers.
—Tommy Trenchard, NPR, 23 Aug. 2025
At the end of 2022, the FBI reported that at least 3,000 underage victims, mostly boys, had been conned by these lies, with more than a dozen suicide deaths resulting.
—PC Magazine, 23 Aug. 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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Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2025
Howard starred as the all-American boy next door Richie Cunningham for the first seven seasons of the series, returning in a guest capacity in the final season.
—Carson Blackwelder, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Huston adapted the book himself — the first of three featuring the Hank Thompson character — tailoring Hank’s personality slightly to suit Butler’s ambivalent-golden-boy energy.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 24 Aug. 2025
Since there was no physical evidence to link these four boys to the crime scene, the case remains unsolved.
—Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 24 Aug. 2025
Sitting in front of the television screen, a 4-year-old Ben Ford watched in awe as the Boise State Broncos pulled off the type of football move that a young boy from Idaho had probably never seen before.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 24 Aug. 2025
According to his biography, Caprio came from humble beginnings, the second of three boys growing up in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2025
Other boys dreamed of being footballers, doctors, soldiers.
—Tommy Trenchard, NPR, 23 Aug. 2025
At the end of 2022, the FBI reported that at least 3,000 underage victims, mostly boys, had been conned by these lies, with more than a dozen suicide deaths resulting.
—PC Magazine, 23 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boy. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
boy
noun1
: a male child from birth to young manhood
2
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