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
However, that 84th-minute goal from Savinho, securing a 3-0 victory, meant a precious spot-on prediction for six-year-old Wilfred instead, taking our boy-wonder to within three.
—Oliver Kay, New York Times, 15 May 2026
The little boy is Johnny (Malo Blanchet), the son of young parents Lucy (Léa Seydoux) and Philip (Laurence Rupp).
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 15 May 2026
The husband and wife share two boys in late ‘80s New York and have a happy home until Irwin’s brother, Gary (Driver), arrives and puts the family in danger with the Russian mafia.
—Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 15 May 2026
The Patriots broke a 14-14 tie with kills from Hudson McFarlane and the game-winning attack from David Griffin to claim Christian’s first section title in boys volleyball.
—Breven Honda, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 May 2026
Peter greets the arrival of this boy, named Arlo (Reggie Absolom), with just that kind of panic.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026
The Thomasville boys avenged their 2025 state championship loss to Armuchee with a 1-0 victory at Upson-Lee’s Matthews Field.
—Jack Leo, AJC.com, 15 May 2026
There’s a double meaning in the title of Jordan Firstman’s rather wonderful feature debut, a coming-of-age movie about a boy now well into his 30s.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Girls were also more likely than boys to say social media hurt their sleep and confidence.
—Maia Niguel Hoskin, Forbes.com, 15 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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Oliver Kay, New York Times, 15 May 2026
The little boy is Johnny (Malo Blanchet), the son of young parents Lucy (Léa Seydoux) and Philip (Laurence Rupp).
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 15 May 2026
The husband and wife share two boys in late ‘80s New York and have a happy home until Irwin’s brother, Gary (Driver), arrives and puts the family in danger with the Russian mafia.
—Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 15 May 2026
The Patriots broke a 14-14 tie with kills from Hudson McFarlane and the game-winning attack from David Griffin to claim Christian’s first section title in boys volleyball.
—Breven Honda, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 May 2026
Peter greets the arrival of this boy, named Arlo (Reggie Absolom), with just that kind of panic.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026
The Thomasville boys avenged their 2025 state championship loss to Armuchee with a 1-0 victory at Upson-Lee’s Matthews Field.
—Jack Leo, AJC.com, 15 May 2026
There’s a double meaning in the title of Jordan Firstman’s rather wonderful feature debut, a coming-of-age movie about a boy now well into his 30s.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Girls were also more likely than boys to say social media hurt their sleep and confidence.
—Maia Niguel Hoskin, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boy. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
boy
noun1
: a male child from birth to young manhood
2
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
