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
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
Andrew Clements
c
: an immature male
separate the men from the boys
a boy genius
2
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
Michael Hurley4
: 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
The Denver PostJean Greening greets the birds in the aviary with whistles, kissing noises, and the phrase, "Who's a pretty boy?"—Current Science
Current Science5
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.
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
When the horn sounded to end Friday night’s City Section Open Division boys’ basketball final, the first person OJ and EJ Popoola wanted to hug was their father, Chris.
—Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2026
The search was scaled down, and her bereft parents, Carole and Vince, went home to their three boys.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 28 Feb. 2026
Lebanon's health ministry said a 16-year-old Syrian boy was killed.
—Arkansas Online, 27 Feb. 2026
At halftime of the CIF San Diego Section Division 5-AA boys basketball finals against Liberty Charter on Thursday night, the Crusaders were staring at a 10-point deficit.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2026
The grand jury report for the other boys was filed Wednesday, records show.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Arbab, the pregnant 19-year-old who fled with her baby boy, had hoped to rebuild her life in Egypt, her friends and a humanitarian worker said, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk about the young mother.
—ABC News, 27 Feb. 2026
Melissa-Melvin Rodriguez earned a Top 10 honor as well, for her action photo from the MLK boys’ basketball tournament at West Charlotte High School.
—Charlotte Observer Staff Report, Charlotte Observer, 27 Feb. 2026
Those sweet boys love getting deep into some ET tubes together.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2026
The search was scaled down, and her bereft parents, Carole and Vince, went home to their three boys.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 28 Feb. 2026
Lebanon's health ministry said a 16-year-old Syrian boy was killed.
—Arkansas Online, 27 Feb. 2026
At halftime of the CIF San Diego Section Division 5-AA boys basketball finals against Liberty Charter on Thursday night, the Crusaders were staring at a 10-point deficit.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2026
The grand jury report for the other boys was filed Wednesday, records show.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Arbab, the pregnant 19-year-old who fled with her baby boy, had hoped to rebuild her life in Egypt, her friends and a humanitarian worker said, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk about the young mother.
—ABC News, 27 Feb. 2026
Melissa-Melvin Rodriguez earned a Top 10 honor as well, for her action photo from the MLK boys’ basketball tournament at West Charlotte High School.
—Charlotte Observer Staff Report, Charlotte Observer, 27 Feb. 2026
Those sweet boys love getting deep into some ET tubes together.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boy. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
boy
noun1
: a male child from birth to young manhood
2
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