boys

noun

plural of boy
1
as in kids
a male person who has not yet reached adulthood a giggling little boy ran by

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in boyfriends
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 boys In cross country, Timber Creek girls and boys won the Ocoee Kickstart Classic, while Tavares girls won the Jim Ryun Invite in Lakeland. — Steve Gorches, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026 Behind that identity, Smith reached out to boys in the Durango area as young as 12. — Logan Smith, CBS News, 22 Aug. 2026 Mario Lopez While Mario Lopez’s boys were getting ready for their first day of school, big sister Gia was still enjoying her summer break. — Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 21 Aug. 2026 His two boys — who are 6 and 8 — spent their summer days hiking, swimming, and going to sailing camps and their nights watching (and talking) Boston Red Sox baseball. — Marah Eakin, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026 The local health authority said two victims were teenage boys who were severely injured. — CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026 Prince George, having just turned 13, is due to start at Eton College, a prestigious boarding school for boys, in September. — Sameen Chaudhry, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026 In the long run, without more recognition of this condition, boys and men will continue to struggle in silence. — Ashleigh N. Deluca, STAT, 20 Aug. 2026 During Wright’s tenure, El Camino Real has replaced the football coach, boys and girls basketball coaches, the tennis coach and the athletic director. — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boys
  1. kids
  2. boyfriends
  3. teenagers
  4. beaux
  5. lads
  6. youths
Noun
  • The fairgrounds on Tully Road will have Alaskan pigs racing, kids screaming on carnival rides and the usual assortment of huge corndogs, strawberry shortcakes and a variety of new fair food like tamales, bao buns and kabobs.
    — Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The burning of fossil fuels is poisoning the air our kids breathe and endangering their present and future by overheating our planet.
    — Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of kids
Noun
  • The tired, the sick, the hungry, the famous and tons of ex-boyfriends, all regretting their wrongs.
    — Courtney Love, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2026
  • As well as the two ur-bad boyfriends from HBO’s Girls Christopher Abbott and Adam Driver who will portray, respectively, Professor Charles Xavier and Nathaniel Milbury/Mister Sinister.
    — Chris Lee, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of boyfriends
Noun
  • Families can make time for open and honest conversations with their teens, recognize teenagers’ efforts instead of focusing only on their achievements, and encouraging them to ask for help.
    — Jonathan Wright, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Task force surveillance observed what appeared to be teenagers purchasing narcotics from the residence, which is near Giles Middle School, College of the Mainland and two local elementary schools, according to FOX 26.
    — Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of teenagers
Noun
  • So are their girlfriends and wives, who support their beaus in stadiums and at home.
    — Kate Hogan, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Despite some very not-so-subtle hints from yours truly, my past beaus have never gifted me a handbag on Valentine’s Day, either.
    — Michelle Baricevic, InStyle, 26 Jan. 2026
Definition of beaux
Noun
  • About how many pounds of fish do each of these strapping, 1,100-lb lads eat per day?
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Or is a ‘good’ World Cup actually one in which none of your lads featured, or their country got knocked out early, and are therefore going to be fresh heading into the 10 gruelling months ahead?
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 24 July 2026
Definition of lads
Noun
  • The bill also lowers the driver age for low-speed e-scooters from 18 to 16, expanding youths’ access statewide to scooters.
    — Narmeen Khan, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
  • An incident like this one, in which employees encouraged youths to restrain another youth, would require staff to notify both the state and the boy’s family within 24 hours.
    — Paige Pfleger, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of youths

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Cite this Entry

“Boys.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boys. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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