choirboy

[ kwahyuhr-boi ]

noun
  1. a boy who sings in a choir, especially a church choir.

  2. Slang. a person who is notably honest, moral, or innocent.

Origin of choirboy

1
First recorded in 1830–40; choir + boy

Words Nearby choirboy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use choirboy in a sentence

  • Bish looked at him like a bishop who has just been contradicted on a point of doctrine by a choirboy.

    Four-Day Planet | Henry Beam Piper
  • He received his first musical education as choirboy in the Prague Cathedral.

    The Violoncello and Its History | Wilhelm Joseph von Wasielewski
  • The rector, assisted by one discreet choirboy, said the mortuary mass.

    An Old Maid | Honore de Balzac
  • He strongly reprimands a choirboy whose wrong notes grate on his delicate ear.

British Dictionary definitions for choirboy

choirboy

/ (ˈkwaɪəˌbɔɪ) /


noun
  1. one of a number of young boys who sing the treble part in a church choir

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012