boy
[noun]
Synonyms: lad, fellow, junior, schoolboy, stripling, youngster, youth

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Related Idioms: little shaver, small fry
Related Words: gamin, ragamuffin, street arab, urchin, hobbledehoy, whippersnapper, schoolboy

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English Thesaurus: man, guy, gentleman, boy, lad, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. boy¹ S1 W1 /bɔɪ/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1200-1300; Origin: Perhaps from Frisian boi 'boy']

1. a male child, or a male person in general ⇒ girl:
The boys wanted to play football.
boys and girls aged 11–18
a teenage/adolescent boy
A group of teenage boys stood talking in a group outside.
bad/naughty boy
‘You naughty boy!’ she said in a harsh voice.
What a polite little boy (=young male child) you are.
Come on, Timmy, act like a big boy (=an older boy) now.

2. a son:
I love my boys, but I’d like to have a girl, too.
How old is your little boy (=young son)?

3. office/paper/delivery etc boy a young man who does a particular job

4. city/local/country boy informal a man of any age who is typical of people from a particular place, or who feels a strong connection with the place he grew up in:
The classic story of a local boy who’s made good (=who has succeeded).
I’m just a country boy.

5. the boys [plural] informal a group of men who are friends and often go out together:
Friday is his night out with the boys.
He considers himself just one of the boys (=not anyone special, but liked by other men).

6. a way of talking to a male horse or dog:
Good boy!

7. boys [plural] informal
a) a group of men who do the same job:
Oh no! Wait until the press boys get hold of this story.
b) men in the army, navy etc, especially those who are fighting in a war:
our boys on the front lines

8. boys will be boys used to say that you should not be surprised when boys or men behave badly, are noisy etc

9. the boys in blue informal the police

10. old boy/my dear boy British English old-fashioned a friendly way for one man to speak to another man

11. American English not polite an offensive way of talking to a black man
⇒ blue-eyed boy, ⇒ jobs for the boys at job(15), ⇒ MAMA’S BOY, MUMMY’S BOY, old boy, wide boy

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. boy² interjection American English informal

1. used when you are excited or pleased about something:
Boy, that was a great meal!

2. oh boy! used when you are slightly annoyed or disappointed about something:
Oh boy! Bethany’s sick again.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

boy
noun
ADJ. big Your boy is quite big for his age. Don't cry?you're a big boy now.
little, small A little boy rode by on a tricycle. Their boy is small for his age.
young Our youngest boy is just starting school.
elder, eldest, older How old is your eldest boy?
baby | adolescent, teenage | good Eat up your greens?there's a good boy.
naughty | bright, clever
VERB + BOY have They've had a baby boy. I've got three boys.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

man an adult male human:
a young man
Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest.
guy (also bloke/chap British English) informal a man:
She’d arranged to meet a guy in the bar.
Alex is a really nice bloke.
gentleman formal a man – used as a very polite way of talking about a man:
an elderly gentleman
Please could you serve this gentleman?
boy a young male person, usually a child or a teenager:
a teenage boy
lad old-fashioned informal a boy or young man:
When I was a young lad, I wanted to join the army.
youth a teenage boy or young man – used especially in news reports to show disapproval:
Gangs of youths roam the streets.
male formal a man – used especially by the police or in science and research contexts. The adjective male is much more common than the noun:
We are investigating the death of an unidentified male.
The condition is usually found only in males.
dude American English informal a man - a very informal use:
You could tell there was something creepy going on with that dude.
masculine considered to be more typical of a man than of a woman:
He had a very masculine face.
masculine aggression
manly having the qualities that people expect and admire in a man, such as being brave and strong:
He took off his shirt, revealing his manly chest.
It isn’t considered manly to cry.
In the portrait, the King looked manly and in control.
He was bronzed and athletic, with manly features and a steady gaze.
macho behaving in a way that is traditionally typical of men, for example by being strong and tough and not showing your feelings – used especially either humorously or to show disapproval:
On the outside he may seem to be very macho but inside he’s very sensitive.
Stallone always plays macho men.
He’s far too macho to drink mineral water.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

boy
bɔɪ
See: all work and no play makes jack a dull boy , fair-haired boy , mama's boy , old boy , separate the men from the boys

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲