Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: CHILDREN

Date: 1200-1300
Origin: Perhaps from Frisian boi 'boy'

boy

1 noun
     
boy1 S1 W1 [countable]
1SSC 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.
2SSF 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

BO 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:
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) BO a group of men who do the same job:
Oh no! Wait until the press boys get hold of this story.
b) PM 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
Definition of boy from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
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