What does "boy" mean?
A male child.
Boy
/bɔɪ/ adj, intj, noun, verb, slang
adj, intj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A male child.
- Grammar: boy is listed as adj, intj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: son, youth, alumnus, american indian.
- Useful contrasts: adult male, adult, biddy.
- Usage evidence: Now that you are a big boy, you may do as you please.
How to use "boy"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "boy" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "boy" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "boy" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "boy" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "boy" is acting as adj, intj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "son" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "boy", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A male child. countable, uncountable
"Kieran plays football with other boys in his school."
- 2 a friendly informal reference to a grown man wordnet
- 3 A young man. countable, uncountable
"Kate is dating a boy named Jim."
- 4 a youthful male person wordnet
- 5 A son of any age. countable, diminutive, especially, uncountable
"Low as that tide has ebbed with me, / It still reflects to memory’s eye / The hour, my brave, my only boy, / Fell by the side of great Dundee."
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 a male human offspring wordnet
- 7 A male human younger than the speaker. countable, diminutive, endearing, uncountable
- 8 (ethnic slur) offensive and disparaging term for Black man wordnet
- 9 A male human of any age, as opposed to a "girl" (female human of any age). countable, derogatory, informal, mildly, sometimes, uncountable
"boys' club"
- 10 A male of low station, (especially as pejorative) a worthless male, a wretch; a mean and dishonest male, a knave. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Do’ſt thou call mee foole boy?"
- 11 A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee, particularly countable, uncountable
"He allowed his ‘boy’ - an overfed young negro from the coast - to treat the white men, under his very eyes, with provoking insolence."
- 12 A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee; A younger such worker. countable, uncountable
"I resolved to continue in the Cave, with my two Servants, my Maid, and a Boy, whom I had brought from France."
- 13 A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee; A non-white male servant regardless of age, particularly as a form of address. countable, historical, offensive, uncountable
"My Boy Stephen Grauener."
- 14 A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee; A male camp follower. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"If any water be rough and boysterous, or the chanell verye broade, it manye times drowneth the carriages and the boyes and nowe and then slouthfull and lyther souldiours."
- 15 Any non-white male, regardless of age. countable, offensive, uncountable
"A Hottentot... expects to be called by his name if addressed by any one who knows it; and by those to whom it is not known he expects to be called Hottentot... or boy."
- 16 A male friend. countable, especially, informal, uncountable
"The next thing I remember, I am walking down the street / I'm feeling all right, I'm with my boys, I'm with my troops, yeah."
- 17 A male submissive. countable, uncountable
- 18 A male non-human animal, especially, in affectionate address, a male pet, especially a dog. countable, uncountable
"C'mere, boy! Good boy! Who's a good boy?"
- 19 A former low rank of various armed services; a holder of this rank. countable, historical, uncountable
"Wounded... 1 Boy, 1st class, severely."
- 20 Heroin. US, slang, uncountable
"[…] drove by a corner, saw what I thought—no, what I knew—were dealers and asked if they knew where I could get some boy."
- 21 A male (tree, gene, etc). childish, countable, uncountable
"Are there “boy” trees and “girl” trees? Yes. A number of species, among them the yew, holly and date-bearing palm, have their male and female flowers on different trees. The male holly, for instance, must be planted fairly close to the female ..."
- 22 Any tangible object close to one's person; often used in emphatic forms such as bad boy. colloquial, countable, endearing, uncountable
"This boy can really kick!"
Verb
- 1 To act as a boy (in allusion to the former practice of boys acting women's parts on the stage). transitive
"I shall see some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness."
Adjective
- 1 Initialism of beginning of year. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, not-comparable
"Coordinate term: EOY"
Intj
- 1 Exclamation of surprise, pleasure or longing.
"Boy, that was close!"
Example
"Now that you are a big boy, you may do as you please."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "boy"?
Common synonyms include: son, youth, alumnus, american indian, amerind, annoyance.
How do you use "boy" in a sentence?
Now that you are a big boy, you may do as you please.
How do you pronounce "boy"?
Pronounced /bɔɪ/.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰā- Proto-Germanic *bō- Proto-West Germanic *bōjō Old English *bōia Middle English boye English boy From Middle English boy /boye (“servant, commoner, knave, boy”), from Old English *bōia (“boy”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōjō, from Proto-Germanic *bōjô (“younger brother, young male relation”), from Proto-Germanic *bō- (“brother, close male relation”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-, *bʰāt- (“father, elder brother, brother”). Cognate with Scots boy (“boy”), West Frisian boai (“boy”), Dutch boi (“boy”), Low German Boi (“boy”), and probably to the Old English proper name Bōia. Also related to West Flemish boe (“brother”), Norwegian dialectal boa (“brother”), Dutch boef (“rogue, knave”), Bavarian Bua (“young boy, lad”), German Bube ("boy; knave; jack"; > English bub), Icelandic bófi (“rogue, crook, bandit, knave”), Lombard bagaj. See also bully.