boy
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A male child.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
boyIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbɔɪ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A male child.
A friendly informal reference to a grown man
“He likes to play golf with the boys.”
diminutiveespecially with a possessive
A son of any age.
A young man.
A male non-human animal, especially, in affectionate address, a male pet, especially a dog.
A male human offspring
verb
transitive
To act as a boy (in allusion to the former practice of boys acting women's parts on the stage).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A friendly informal reference to a grown man
Used this way, boy is a common word with a mildly favourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“He likes to play golf with the boys.”
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use boy
- “He likes to play golf with the boys.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
A youthful male person.
A male human offspring.
A female child, a girl.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A corporation that operates through a national council that charters local councils all over the United States.
Eurafrican annual naturalized in America as a weed.
An international (but decentralized) movement started in 1908 in England with the goal of teaching good citizenship to boys.
A boy who takes care of bats and other baseball equipment.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.