boy

noun

ˈbȯi 

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

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

c

: an immature male

separate the men from the boys

a boy genius

d

: a male romantic partner : boyfriend, beau

2

a

: a man or boy native to a given place

a local boy

b

: man, person

the boys at the office

c

—used interjectionally to express intensity of feeling

Boy, what a game!

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

4

: 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

Jean Greening greets the birds in the aviary with whistles, kissing noises, and the phrase, "Who's a pretty boy?"

—Current Science

5

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.

boyhood

ˈbȯi-ˌhu̇d 

noun

boyish

ˈbȯi-ish 

adjective

boyishly adverb

boyishness noun

Synonyms of boy

• kid
• teenager
• lad
• adolescent
• toddler

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

She’s spent most of her life in King’s Landing; raised young boys in King’s Landing. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 July 2026

But both are concerned as heck about their missing boy, Carter, who is having some growing-up issues with his parents. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 3 July 2026

Longer, thicker vocal folds vibrate more slowly, which is why a boy’s voice drops roughly an octave over adolescence while a girl’s drops only slightly. — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026

As a boy in the mid-1760s, George Forster traveled with his father deep into Russia. — Jenny Uglow, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 5a

Phrases Containing boy

• altar boy
• a wisp of a girl/boy
• bad boy
• ball boy
• barrow boy
• b-boy
• best boy
• big boy
• boy band
• boy friend
• boy howdy
• boy shorts
• boy toy
• boy wonder
• cabin boy
• chorus boy
• delivery boy
• errand boy
• frat boy
• girl/boy crazy
• glamour boy
• good ol' boy
• good old boy
• good ole boy
• head boy
• lover boy
• mama's boy
• office boy
• old boy
• old boy network
• page boy
• poor boy
• poster boy
• pretty boy
• roaring boy
• soy boy
• stable boy
• stock boy
• tall boy
• teddy boy
• that's a good boy/girl/dog (etc.)
• the boy/girl next door
• toy boy
• water boy
• whipping boy
• wide boy

Rhymes for boy

• choy
• coy
• croy
• foy
• hoi
• hoy
• joy
• loy
• oy
• ploy
• soy
• toy

Kids Definition

boy

noun

ˈbȯi 

1

: a male child from birth to young manhood

2

: son sense 1a

boyhood

-ˌhu̇d 

noun

boyish

-ish 

adjective

boyishly adverb

boyishness noun