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
My older boy just got married.
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
And who can say for sure whether twilight is the arrival of some dark night or the coming of the dawn, or whether a scrawny boy’s shoulder blades might really be the nubs of angel wings, or where, if anywhere, any of us will find new life.
—Casey Cep, New Yorker, 9 May 2026
In boys volleyball, Lake Brantley, Horizon and Lake Howell advanced to the state finals.
—Steve Gorches, The Orlando Sentinel, 9 May 2026
Wilde Lake and Howard compete during a boys lacrosse playoff game at Wilde Lake High School on Friday, May 8.
—Brian T. Krista, Baltimore Sun, 9 May 2026
Foothill’s boys scored 149 points to edge Buena by six points for second place behind Cerritos (198).
—Dan Albano, Oc Register, 9 May 2026
Canton High School athletic director Danny Erickson announced in a blog post Thursday that legendary boys hockey coach Brian Shuman has decided to retire.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 8 May 2026
No more boys in girls’ sports or private spaces.
—Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026
Institutions of higher learning need to invest time and resources into engaging men and boys in their local communities to apply to their nursing programs.
—Nicholas A. Giordano, STAT, 8 May 2026
Liam and Olivia topped the Social Security Administration's list of most popular names for babies for 2025 once again for the seventh consecutive year, with Noah and Oliver following closely behind in popularity for boys and Charlotte and Emma for girls.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 8 May 2026
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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Casey Cep, New Yorker, 9 May 2026
In boys volleyball, Lake Brantley, Horizon and Lake Howell advanced to the state finals.
—Steve Gorches, The Orlando Sentinel, 9 May 2026
Wilde Lake and Howard compete during a boys lacrosse playoff game at Wilde Lake High School on Friday, May 8.
—Brian T. Krista, Baltimore Sun, 9 May 2026
Foothill’s boys scored 149 points to edge Buena by six points for second place behind Cerritos (198).
—Dan Albano, Oc Register, 9 May 2026
Canton High School athletic director Danny Erickson announced in a blog post Thursday that legendary boys hockey coach Brian Shuman has decided to retire.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 8 May 2026
No more boys in girls’ sports or private spaces.
—Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026
Institutions of higher learning need to invest time and resources into engaging men and boys in their local communities to apply to their nursing programs.
—Nicholas A. Giordano, STAT, 8 May 2026
Liam and Olivia topped the Social Security Administration's list of most popular names for babies for 2025 once again for the seventh consecutive year, with Noah and Oliver following closely behind in popularity for boys and Charlotte and Emma for girls.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boy. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
boy
noun1
: a male child from birth to young manhood
2
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