B-boy

noun

ˈbē-ˌbȯi 

variants or b-boy

plural B-boys or b-boys

: a boy or man who adopts the pursuits or styles of hip-hop culture

Recalling the time when he would sit in his bedroom window in the Bronx and play his turntables, he [Kool Herc] said, "I just wanted the kids to have fun. I never knew what I did would turn out like this. I guess you can call me the oldest B-boy."

—James T. Jones IV

often : a boy or man who is a breakdancer

Ken Swift, who is recognized by many b-boys and b-girls as the quintessential b-boy, mentioned that on the way to developing or innovating what became known as breaking, youth in his community were inspired by gymnastics and martial arts films …

—E. Moncell Durden

Examples of B-boy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Reuters — Plumber by day, breakdancer by night, Cheung Cheuk Man was disappointed to miss out on an Olympic berth when breaking makes its debut at the Paris Games, but the Hong Kong B-boy hopes to help develop the city’s next wave of talent in the dance sport. —Reuters, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024

Around the time Fabel first met Chalfant, another dancer and aerosol artist, Doze, invited Fabel and Wiggles to hang out with the famous B-boy collective the Rock Steady Crew. —Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2023

In conversation with hip-hop artists, designers, stylists, and more, the book intersects the genre with contemporary fashion, and is a chronology of hip-hop’s B-boy origins to multi-hyphenate visionary Pharrell Williams’ being named Men’s Creative Director at Louis Vuitton. —Jaelani Turner-Williams, ELLE, 11 Aug. 2023

Apart from his small circle of B-boy friends, L.L. divides his fans/supporters into two camps. —Annette Stark, Spin, 11 Aug. 2023

Bambaataa and his crew preached the four elements of hip-hop that would soon define the burgeoning scene: deejaying, B-boy/girl dancing, emceeing and graffiti painting. —August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2023

And Montalvo, who competes as B-boy Victor, is arguably the top American man in the sport. —Tom Schad, USA TODAY, 26 July 2023

The B-boys and B-girls will be spinning, swiping, and freezing on the Place de la Concorde in the Games’s newest sport. —John Powers, BostonGlobe.com, 26 July 2023

Word History

Etymology

B, from beat entry 2, or alternatively from break entry 2 (in sense "solo instrumental passage") or breakbeat (in sense "sequence of breaks created by manually backing up the needle on two record turntables")

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above