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 She’s spent most of her life in King’s Landing; raised young boys in King’s Landing. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 July 2026 Eight people were injured, including four boys aged six to 14 years old. — Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 5 July 2026 The Nationals’ Youth Baseball Academy in Southeast, a staple since 2013, is a wonderful venue for both boys’ baseball teams in middle and high schools, and for girls’ softball teams. — David Aldridge, New York Times, 4 July 2026 After several agonizing days, the city fell, and the Dutch UN peacekeeping forces helped separate the women from the men and boys. — Janine Di Giovanni, Vanity Fair, 3 July 2026 While Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone put out paid-to-the-telegraph boys of old, these roles were soon replaced by legions of telephone operators. — Rupert Lee-Browne, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026 The children ranged in age from 1 1/2 years to 18 years old and included both boys and girls, officials said. — CBS News, 1 July 2026 Read about how Moore proposes to take more active care of boys and prevent them from falling into crisis. — Sarah Todd, STAT, 1 July 2026 Two young Brazilian boys showed their fancy dance moves the sound of a bagpipe played by Scottish Tartan Army fan Mark Love, who was visiting from Edinburgh. — Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 25 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boys
  1. kids
  2. boyfriends
  3. teenagers
  4. beaux
  5. lads
  6. youths
Noun
  • On Sundays, Kenyon opens the gates of his homestead to kids from Cherbourg, and anyone else who wants to ride bulls.
    — Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
  • Both of the soon-to-be newlyweds have talked openly about wanting to have kids.
    — Bryan West, USA Today, 4 July 2026
Definition of kids
Noun
  • The singer and Gomez met through their respective ex-boyfriends, Joe and Nick Jonas, in 2008.
    — Hannah Malach, InStyle, 2 July 2026
  • By the 1990s, the rule book was hundreds of pages long, with lines as specific as which fork to use at dinner and directives to not speak about boyfriends in front of fans, according to Texas Monthly's podcast America's Girls.
    — Emily Krauser, PEOPLE, 20 June 2026
Definition of boyfriends
Noun
  • Mumbai — Outside the aircraft hangar-sized venue, the crowd of Gen Z office workers and teenagers is thickening.
    — Ayushi Shah, CNN Money, 4 July 2026
  • Before Estes and the NAR, teenagers were making their own fuel for model rockets and the lack of regulation often led to severe injuries.
    — Harry Bennett, Space.com, 3 July 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
  • This intensive five-day retreat welcomes only America’s dudes, bros, lads, sons and fathers.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 21 June 2026
  • Aussie Rules lads are almost clothed enough to enter a convenience store.
    — Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Definition of lads
Noun
  • For transitional-aged youths, prevention often means stepping in before early instability becomes permanent—before a rough stretch turns into chronic adult homelessness, long-term unemployment, justice involvement or untreated mental health needs.
    — Chris Simonsen, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
  • As volunteers fanned out Sunday to clean debris from the beach, leaders blamed social media and out-of-state youths for fueling disorder and pledged a full post-holiday safety review.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 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 11 Jul. 2026.

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