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
Welcome to The Fast Break, a Star-Telegram series featuring the top Fort Worth-area high school basketball news, performances and results from the UIL boys basketball regional finals.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Mar. 2026
After starting with three boys, the couple have since had six girls.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 6 Mar. 2026
One boy learns to cook, poring over YouTube recipes.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026
Both boys gained entry by climbing up through the toy chute on the front of the machine.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2026
This year's games are scheduled to take place March 31 in Glendale, Arizona, USA TODAY reports, featuring teams made up of the top 24 girls' and 24 boys' basketball players in the country, each playing a single exhibition game.
—Chad Murphy, Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 Mar. 2026
The Tureaud brothers and their wives, who also happen to share the same first name -- Courtney Dupuy Tureaud and Courtney Edwards Tureaud -- welcomed baby boys Briggs and Tate on March 2 at Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
—Gma Team, ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
That’s an entire pregnancy’s worth of time spent trying to figure out what to call her baby boy.
—Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 6 Mar. 2026
With just under 30 seconds left in a state playoff game against Damien, Crespi’s boys basketball team was down by three points.
—Dan Rios, Daily News, 6 Mar. 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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Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Mar. 2026
After starting with three boys, the couple have since had six girls.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 6 Mar. 2026
One boy learns to cook, poring over YouTube recipes.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026
Both boys gained entry by climbing up through the toy chute on the front of the machine.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2026
This year's games are scheduled to take place March 31 in Glendale, Arizona, USA TODAY reports, featuring teams made up of the top 24 girls' and 24 boys' basketball players in the country, each playing a single exhibition game.
—Chad Murphy, Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 Mar. 2026
The Tureaud brothers and their wives, who also happen to share the same first name -- Courtney Dupuy Tureaud and Courtney Edwards Tureaud -- welcomed baby boys Briggs and Tate on March 2 at Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
—Gma Team, ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
That’s an entire pregnancy’s worth of time spent trying to figure out what to call her baby boy.
—Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 6 Mar. 2026
With just under 30 seconds left in a state playoff game against Damien, Crespi’s boys basketball team was down by three points.
—Dan Rios, Daily News, 6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boy. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
boy
noun1
: a male child from birth to young manhood
2
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
