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.
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 native male servant, working as a butler, waiter, houseboy, etc.
Nautical. an apprentice seaman or fisherman.
interjection Also oh, boy .
an exclamation of wonder, approval, etc., or of displeasure or contempt.
Origin of boy
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English boy(e), perhaps after Old English Bōia a man's name; cognate with Frisian boi “young man”; akin to Old English bōfa, Old Norse bōfi, Old High German Buobo a man's name (German Bube “knave” (dialectal “boy, lad”)
usage note for boy
During the slavery and Jim Crow eras, white southerners would use the term boy to refer to or address a Black adult male, implying that Black people were inferior. In the meaning “native male servant,” boy was originally used in colonial territories and in the ports of China, Japan, etc., through which trade with foreign countries was permitted by special treaty.
There are several other reasons, including that oftentimes when there is an option of sending one child to school, families will send the boy.
Malala Yousafzai tells the business community: Education is the best way to guard against future crises|Michal Lev-Ram, writer|September 15, 2020|Fortune
When an imam refused to speak with a girl, she sent a boy from her organization in her place.
The Teenager Breaking Up Child Marriages, Door to Door|Pallabi Munsi|September 2, 2020|Ozy
She didn’t mind that Charlie didn’t play sports as the other boys did.
‘A Star is Bored’ a delicious work of fiction|Kathi Wolfe|August 13, 2020|Washington Blade
Once, while volunteering in a first-grade classroom, I even accidentally kissed the wrong boy because the back of his head looked like my son’s.
Online Learning Is Here to Stay|Sara-Ellen Amster|August 7, 2020|Voice of San Diego
His condition improved more lastingly only after his physician, Ogden Bruton, discovered that the boy had almost no gamma globulins in his blood.
Our Genes May Explain Severity of COVID-19 and Other Infections|Monique Brouillette|July 27, 2020|Quanta Magazine
This is Bey and Nicki at their most lyrically masochistic, and boy, is it a treat.
The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and More|Marlow Stern|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But religious tolerance would be a wholesome goodie for every boy and girl.
Santa Fails One More Time|P. J. O’Rourke|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All would attest to the manifest goodness that inspired the perfect nickname for the boy who would become a perfect cop.
In The Shadow of Murdered Cops|Michael Daly|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As a boy, by the way, Pierre had set out from Florida in an unsuccessful canoe trip to Cuba!
Canada ♥ Cuba Just Got Complicated|Shinan Govani|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His high school prom was around the corner, and he had been hanging out with a boy that he had a crush on.
Beaten By His Church for Being Gay|Justin Jones|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Little David Copperfield is a jewel of a boy with a turn for books.
Essays in Little|Andrew Lang
Notwithstanding this copy-book preamble, my boy, I am inclined to suggest a little prudence on your part.
The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume One|Abraham Lincoln
She is married now and lives at Ashland, and has two nice children, a boy and a girl.
How To Do It|Edward Everett Hale
"Yes, always that," retorted the boy, and Piers Minor burst into a laugh.
The Doomsman|Van Tassel Sutphen
But he noticed the cord and gently untied it, so that the boy slept on undisturbed.
In God's Garden|Amy Steedman
British Dictionary definitions for boy
boy
/ (bɔɪ) /
noun
a male child; lad; youth
a man regarded as immature or inexperiencedhe's just a boy when it comes to dealing with women
See old boy
informala group of men, esp a group of friends
usuallyderogatory(esp in former colonial territories) a Black person or native male servant of any age
Australiana jockey or apprentice
short for boyfriend
boys will be boysyouthful indiscretion or exuberance must be expected and tolerated
jobs for the boysinformalappointment of one's supporters to posts, without reference to their qualifications or ability
the boyIrishinformalthe right tool for a particular taskthat's the boy to cut it
interjection
an exclamation of surprise, pleasure, contempt, etcboy, is he going to be sorry!
Word Origin for boy
C13 (in the sense: male servant; C14: young male): of uncertain origin; perhaps from Anglo-French abuié fettered (unattested), from Latin boia fetter
“Dog,” “Boy,” And Other Words That We Don’t Know Where They Came FromEven the humblest of words can have the most obscure origins. Let's walk through the stories of some common words to see how puzzling they are.