boy

boy
boy1 W1S1 [bɔı] n
[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.
▪ The school has over 1,200 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
BrE old-fashioned a friendly way for one man to speak to another man
11.) AmE not polite an offensive way of talking to a black man
→↑blue-eyed boy,jobs for the boys at ↑job, ↑mama's boy, ↑mummy's boy, ↑old boy, ↑wide boy
boy 2
boy2 interjection AmE 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.

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • boy — boy …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • Boy — bezeichnet: Boy (Album), Album der Band U2 Bottrop Boy, ein Stadtteil von Bottrop BOY (Band), deutsch schweizer Pop Duo Boy ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Adolf Boy (1612–um 1680), deutscher Maler Dietrich Jürgen Boy (1724–1803),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Boy — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. {{{image}}}   Sigles d une seule lettre   Sigles de deux lettres > Sigles de trois lettres …   Wikipédia en Français

  • boy — [ bɔj ] n. m. • 1843; mot angl. « garçon » 1 ♦ Jeune domestique indigène dans les pays autrefois colonisés. « Nous engageons [...] deux boys et un cuisinier » (A. Gide). 2 ♦ (1956) Danseur de music hall. Vedette entourée de boys et de girls. ⊗… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Boy — Boy, n. [Cf. D. boef, Fries. boi, boy; akin to G. bube, Icel. bofi rouge.] 1. A male child, from birth to the age of puberty; a lad; hence, a son. [1913 Webster] My only boy fell by the side of great Dundee. Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster] Note: Boy …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Boy (U2) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Boy. Boy Album par U2 Sortie 20 octobre 1980 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Boy — [bɔy̮], der; s, s: livrierter [Hotel]diener: der Boy brachte ihn im Lift nach oben. Syn.: ↑ Diener, dienstbarer Geist. Zus.: Hotelboy, Liftboy. * * * Boy1 〈[bɔı] m. 6〉 = Boi Boy2 〈[bɔı] m. 6〉 Laufjunge, Bote, jugendl. Angestellter in Hotels ( …   Universal-Lexikon

  • boy — s.m. (Rar) 1. Servitor indigen din colonii (mai ales în hoteluri). 2. Dansator dintr un ansamblu de music hall. [< engl. boy – băiat]. Trimis de LauraGellner, 21.11.2004. Sursa: DN  boy (angl.) s. m., art. bóy ul; pl. bóy, art. bóy i [pro …   Dicționar Român

  • Boy A — Données clés Réalisation John Crowley Scénario Mark O Rowe d après le roman de Jonathan Trigell Acteurs principaux Andrew Garfield Peter Mullan Katie Lyons Sociétés de production Cuba Pictures Grande Bretagne …   Wikipédia en Français

  • boy — mid 13c., boie servant, commoner, knave, boy, possibly from O.Fr. embuie one fettered, from V.L. *imboiare, from L. boia leg iron, yoke, leather collar, from Gk. boeiai dorai ox hides. But it also appears to be identical with E.Fris. boi young… …   Etymology dictionary

  • boy — [boi] n. [ME boie, servant, commoner, knave, boy < ? OFr embuié, one fettered < embuier, to chain < em , EN 1 + L boiae, fetters, orig., leather collar for the neck < bos, ox, COW1] 1. a male child from birth to the age of physical… …   English World dictionary

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