1
as in kid
a male person who has not yet reached adulthood
a giggling little boy ran by
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in boyfriend
a male romantic companion
their teenaged daughter has a new boy, and she's just crazy about him
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of boy
Surveillance footage showed Brown carrying the sleeping boy from his bedroom hours before he was found in a pool of blood, WFAA reported, citing Dallas police.
—
Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 6 Oct. 2025
It was given to a total of 2,249 baby boys in 2024, per the SSA.
—Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2025
The story is based on the true case of the abduction in Israel of a seven-year-old Jewish boy, Yossele Schumacher, by his ultra-Orthodox grandfather in the early 1960s, to prevent him from being raised as a secular Jew by his parents.
—Annika Pham, Variety, 6 Oct. 2025
Klima lived an incredible, principled life, having survived both the Nazi concentration camp at Terezin as a boy, and post-1968 Soviet repression in Czechoslovakia.
—Jonny Diamond, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper and his wife, Kayla, welcomed their fourth child, a second boy, to their family lineup last week.
—Sarah Scott, Parents, 6 Oct. 2025
Their father drove to a gas station near the school to pick up the two boys.
—Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Oct. 2025
In real life, Indy is in fact a very good boy.
—Ralphie Aversa, USA Today, 6 Oct. 2025
The findings also effectively means the exoneration of four teenage boys initially implicated in the killings in 1999, two of whom confessed.
—Jean Casarez, CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 6 Oct. 2025
It was given to a total of 2,249 baby boys in 2024, per the SSA.
—Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2025
The story is based on the true case of the abduction in Israel of a seven-year-old Jewish boy, Yossele Schumacher, by his ultra-Orthodox grandfather in the early 1960s, to prevent him from being raised as a secular Jew by his parents.
—Annika Pham, Variety, 6 Oct. 2025
Klima lived an incredible, principled life, having survived both the Nazi concentration camp at Terezin as a boy, and post-1968 Soviet repression in Czechoslovakia.
—Jonny Diamond, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper and his wife, Kayla, welcomed their fourth child, a second boy, to their family lineup last week.
—Sarah Scott, Parents, 6 Oct. 2025
Their father drove to a gas station near the school to pick up the two boys.
—Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Oct. 2025
In real life, Indy is in fact a very good boy.
—Ralphie Aversa, USA Today, 6 Oct. 2025
The findings also effectively means the exoneration of four teenage boys initially implicated in the killings in 1999, two of whom confessed.
—Jean Casarez, CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boy
Noun
-
After a long day of activity, reward the kids with a treat from The Cake Bake Shop or Graeter’s Ice Cream.—
Beth Luberecki,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Many autistic kids are drawn to water, regardless of its temperature, because water offers a calming sensory effect.—
Victoria Moorwood,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The 23-year-old, who welcomed her son Halo with boyfriend DDG, admitted to photoshopping her growing belly out of Instagram posts before publicly announcing the birth.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Based on the events of the episodes, the father could have believably been Logan, Jess, new boyfriend Paul, or some random Wookie cosplayer.—
Claire Franken,
TVLine,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Born in 1945, Dreja grew up in Kingston Upon Thames, England, and was drawn to rock ‘n’ roll as a teenager.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Still only a teenager (aged 19), but played 111 times for Ajax and has been in and out of the Dutch senior squad for almost two years.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Last year’s The Tortured Poets Department, which recounted Swift’s breakups with rocker beau Matty Healy and actor/co-writer Joe Alwyn, bristled at expectations and disappeared into fantasy.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Her beau and companion was asleep on his board in the middle of the lagoon.—
NEAL RUBIN,
Freep.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
His boss seems unusually chill with the deception, mostly because this lad might be helpful for sniffing out other moles and double agents in their field.—
Vulture Editors,
Vulture,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Rather than figuring out whether or not the young lad did it, Adolescence explores the complexity and psychology of how an earnest student from a respectable family committed such a crime.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Use of complementary and alternative medicine in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review.—
Hannah Millington,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Children and adolescents ages 2 to 18, without other high-risk factors like immunosuppression, can receive and should be offered the vaccine if they were not immunized before, according to the guidance.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The owners of the home said they were woken up by the crash, as was their toddler, according to CBS affiliate WBZ.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Afterward, prosecutors said Smith was found to have 1,291 child pornography files, several of which involved babies and toddlers and others that showed children being violently raped.—
Julia Marnin,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boy. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share