old boy

[ ohld-boi for 1, 2; ohld-boi for 3; ohld boi for 4 ]

noun
  1. Informal. an adult male, especially a Southerner.: Compare good old boy.

  2. a lively elderly man.

  1. Chiefly British. an alumnus, especially of a boys' preparatory or public school.

  2. Chiefly British. old chap.

Origin of old boy

1
First recorded in 1595–1605

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

How to use old boy in a sentence

  • Dic had another boy friend—an old boy, of thirty-five or more—whose name was William Little.

  • Tell ye, 'f the old boy himself sh'd ride up alongside, shouldn't be a mite s'prised to see him.

    Overland | John William De Forest
  • Kamelillo said he was "old boy all right," but Kamelillo's notions of what was virtuous weren't civilised notions.

    The Belted Seas | Arthur Colton
  • "We've missed you these four days, old boy," his father said.

    Four Days | Hetty Hemenway

British Dictionary definitions for old boy

old boy

noun
  1. (sometimes capitals) British a male ex-pupil of a school

  2. informal, mainly British

    • a familiar name used to refer to a man

    • an old man

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