plural boys
often attributive
1
a(1)
: a male child from birth to adulthood
a ten-year-old boy
(2)
: a child whose gender identity is male
Author Kyle Lukoff told Newsweek, Call Me Max and other books in the series are about a young trans boy figuring out who he is, making new friends, and sharing about himself with his family and community.—
Samantha Lock
Samantha Lock
b
: son
Even though it made them uncomfortable to have their boy talked about all over town, secretly, Nick's mom and dad were pleased.—Andrew Clements
Andrew Clements
c
: an immature male
separate the men from the boys
a boy genius
2
3
chiefly US slang
: a close male friend
Now, the receiver is getting a second chance, thanks to old friend Tom Brady. "Tom is my boy," [Antonio] Brown said Wednesday during his introductory video press conference in Tampa.—Michael Hurley
Michael Hurley4
: a male domesticated animal and especially a pet
Leo is a 2-year-old pit bull mix. … He loves receiving attention, getting pets and being told he is a good boy.—The Denver Post
The Denver PostJean Greening greets the birds in the aviary with whistles, kissing noises, and the phrase, "Who's a pretty boy?"—Current Science
Current Science5
a
dated, offensive
: a male servant or an enslaved man
b
disparaging + offensive
—used to address a man of color and especially a Black man
Note: The deeply offensive use of the word boy to address an adult man of color has a strong association with sense 5a and is a term expressive of racist condescension.
Examples of boy in a Sentence
It's a boy! She gave birth to a baby boy this morning.
a nine-year-old boy named David
Okay, boys and girls, it's time to play a game.
Is this your little boy?
That's my boy! Good job, Son.
a group of teenage boys
My parents want me to meet a nice boy and get married.
Don't be so hard on him. He's just a boy.
a poor boy from the north
Wait till the boys back home hear about this!
Recent Examples on the Web
According to Hays, who is representing Richard and Holly, no such conspiracy existed, and whether or not Richard and Holly knew whether the money went to boys’ ranches is irrelevant, since Baker’s case was focused on violating estray laws, not any financial motivation.
—Mitch Moxley, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025
Meanwhile, Sami, a city boy ashamed of his roots, arrives for a relaxing weekend on his family farm.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 27 Sep. 2025
National Sons Day is upon us, where parents are to show their appreciation for their darling boys, and are encouraged to have meaningful conversations with them.
—Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 27 Sep. 2025
With a full skirt A boxy, borrowed-from-the-boys puffer pairs surprisingly well with a more feminine midiskirt.
—Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 26 Sep. 2025
The character Justin, whose latent gay identity has functioned mostly as a backdoor punchline up to this point, finally develops feelings for a boy in his high-school theater program (tale as old as time) and the young love culminates in a cry-worthy way.
—James Factora, Them., 26 Sep. 2025
Hospital staff informed officers that baby boy Mateo Rideout was brought into the hospital with life threatening injuries.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 26 Sep. 2025
Since 2001, the globe-trotting reality competition has quietly doubled as a celebrity hot spot — with everyone from pro athletes to YouTubers and even a boy-bander chasing that million-dollar finish line.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
For lunch, rockfish and oyster po boys get a lot of attention as do the rockfish tacos.
—Nora Heston Tarte, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Mitch Moxley, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025
Meanwhile, Sami, a city boy ashamed of his roots, arrives for a relaxing weekend on his family farm.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 27 Sep. 2025
National Sons Day is upon us, where parents are to show their appreciation for their darling boys, and are encouraged to have meaningful conversations with them.
—Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 27 Sep. 2025
With a full skirt A boxy, borrowed-from-the-boys puffer pairs surprisingly well with a more feminine midiskirt.
—Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 26 Sep. 2025
The character Justin, whose latent gay identity has functioned mostly as a backdoor punchline up to this point, finally develops feelings for a boy in his high-school theater program (tale as old as time) and the young love culminates in a cry-worthy way.
—James Factora, Them., 26 Sep. 2025
Hospital staff informed officers that baby boy Mateo Rideout was brought into the hospital with life threatening injuries.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 26 Sep. 2025
Since 2001, the globe-trotting reality competition has quietly doubled as a celebrity hot spot — with everyone from pro athletes to YouTubers and even a boy-bander chasing that million-dollar finish line.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
For lunch, rockfish and oyster po boys get a lot of attention as do the rockfish tacos.
—Nora Heston Tarte, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boy. Accessed 28 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
boy
noun1
: a male child from birth to young manhood
2
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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