B-boy

noun

ˈbē-ˌbȯi 

variants or b-boy

plural B-boys or b-boys

: a boy or man who adopts the pursuits or styles of hip-hop culture

Recalling the time when he would sit in his bedroom window in the Bronx and play his turntables, he [Kool Herc] said, "I just wanted the kids to have fun. I never knew what I did would turn out like this. I guess you can call me the oldest B-boy."

—James T. Jones IV

often : a boy or man who is a breakdancer

Ken Swift, who is recognized by many b-boys and b-girls as the quintessential b-boy, mentioned that on the way to developing or innovating what became known as breaking, youth in his community were inspired by gymnastics and martial arts films …

—E. Moncell Durden

Examples of B-boy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Beyond music insiders or Olympic aficionados, most people would struggle to recall that Canada’s Philip Kim captured breaking’s B-boy gold medal or that Japan’s Ami Yuasa triumphed among B-girls. —Jonathan Abrams, New York Times, 28 Dec. 2024

Just like the B-girls, the B-boys do a round robin before quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. —Lukas Weese, The Athletic, 9 Aug. 2024

Even legendary B-boy Crazy Legs, of The Rock Steady Crew, shared his opinion on her viral routine. —Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 15 Aug. 2024

Furthermore, the attention on its athletes — known as B-boys and B-girls — has increased tremendously since Paris. —Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 14 Aug. 2024

The B-boy who did more within the 60-second time limit would win almost every time. —Dvora Meyers, WIRED, 9 Aug. 2024

Recently, that took her all the way to the Paris Olympics, where 32 athletes – known as B-boys and B-girls – were competing at the Games for the first time. —George Ramsay, CNN, 12 Aug. 2024

Some dancers worry that this could tarnish the essence of the movement, a concern shared by many B-boys and B-girls leading up to breaking’s Olympic debut. —Celia Ford, Vox, 10 Aug. 2024

With the sport of breaking — don’t call it breakdancing — set to debut at the 2024 Summer Games this week, the Los Angeles B-boy hopes to win gold while also scoring points in the court of public opinion. —David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

B, from beat entry 2, or alternatively from break entry 2 (in sense "solo instrumental passage") or breakbeat (in sense "sequence of breaks created by manually backing up the needle on two record turntables")

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above