Advertisement
Advertisement
boy
[ boi ]
noun
- a male child, from birth to full growth, especially one less than 18 years of age.
- a young man who lacks maturity, judgment, etc.
- Informal. a grown man, especially when referred to familiarly:
He liked to play poker with the boys.
- a son:
Sam's oldest boy is helping him in the business.
- a male who is from or native to a given place:
He's a Mississippi boy.
- boys, (used with a singular or plural verb)
- a range of sizes from 8 to 20 in garments made for boys.
- a garment in this size range.
- the department or section of a store where these garments are sold.
- boys, military personnel, especially combat soldiers:
Support the boys overseas.
- Disparaging and Offensive. a term used to refer to or address a man considered by the speaker to be inferior in ethnicity, nationality, or occupational status.
- a young male servant; page.
- Offensive. (in India, China, Japan, etc.) a male servant, working as a butler, waiter, houseboy, etc.
- Nautical. an apprentice seaman or fisherman.
interjection
- an exclamation of wonder, approval, etc., or of displeasure or contempt.
boy
/ bɔɪ /
noun
- a male child; lad; youth
- a man regarded as immature or inexperienced
he's just a boy when it comes to dealing with women
- See old boy
- informal.a group of men, esp a group of friends
- derogatory.(esp in former colonial territories) a Black person or native male servant of any age
- a jockey or apprentice
- short for boyfriend
- boys will be boysyouthful indiscretion or exuberance must be expected and tolerated
- jobs for the boys informal.appointment of one's supporters to posts, without reference to their qualifications or ability
- the boy informal.the right tool for a particular task
that's the boy to cut it
interjection
- an exclamation of surprise, pleasure, contempt, etc
boy, is he going to be sorry!
Discover More
Sensitive Note
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Origin of boy1
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Origin of boy1
Discover More
Idioms and Phrases
In addition to the idiom beginning with boys , also see fair-haired boy ; mama's boy ; separate the men from the boys ; whipping boy .Discover More
Example Sentences
In the 90s, it kept gay men out of leadership roles in the Boy Scouts of America.
This is Bey and Nicki at their most lyrically masochistic, and boy, is it a treat.
Interviews in Serial (including ones from Adnan) do acknowledge that Jay was known as a resident bad boy at Woodlawn High School.
The former Virginia governor was once the golden boy of the GOP.
A sepia photo shows him as a young boy, head in his hands, with a large book open at a bar table.
A little boy of four was moved to passionate grief at the sight of a dead dog taken from a pond.
You see, I'd always thought of him as the boy whom Great-aunt Lucia described having seen.
Poor Squinty ran and tried to hide under the straw, for he knew the boy was talking about him.
A look of passion came into the face of the watching boy, and again he fingered his revolver.
Several times after this the boy and his sisters came to look down into the pig pen.
Advertisement
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse