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# boy

«boy» in Mova's school dictionary: **a male child or a young man** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (boy, boys); interjection (Boy! Oh boy!)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A boy is a male child or a young man. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#m1)

2) «Boy!» or «Oh boy!» is said to show surprise or excitement, mostly in the USA. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#m2)

3) (casual) «The boys» means a group of male friends: «out with the boys»; «boyo» (Wales, Ireland), «laddie» (Scotland) are friendly words for a boy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#m3)

4) (casual) «Boy» or «good boy» is said to a dog. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#m4)

5) (rude) Calling a grown man «boy» can be an insult; «mummy's boy» teases a boy who is close to his mum. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#m5)

6) (formal) Exams and forms say «male pupil», «a male child», «juvenile» or «a minor». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#m6)

### sense in the lessons

people counted in a class or group, often next to girls; together they make the class; boys + girls = children; phrases: «a little boy», «boys and girls», «schoolboy», «the boys' team», «boyfriend»; in casual talk «the boys», «lads», «oh boy», «good boy» (to a dog); in rough talk «oi, boy, get over here», «mummy's boy»; in the exam voice «male pupils», «the number of male candidates», «the proportion of boys»

### examples

- There are 14 boys and 16 girls in the class. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#x1)
- Each boy gets 3 pencils. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#x2)
- How many more girls than boys are there? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#x3)
- The boys picked 40 apples. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#x4)
- The boy next door has a dog. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#x5)
- Good morning, boys and girls! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#x6)
- The boys' football team won the cup. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#x7)
- Oh boy, 3 pizzas just for us! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#x8)
- Out with the boys, 6 of us, back by 9. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#x9)
- Good boy, Rex, sit! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#x10)
- A class comprises 30 pupils, of whom 14 are male. State the number of female pupils. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#x11)
- Stop teasing him and calling him a mummy's boy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#x12)
- He was quite a practical boy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/#x13)

### note

Plural: boys. Possessive: boy's (one boy), boys' (many boys). A thing counted. Boys + girls = children. Trap: «how many more girls than boys» is a difference, not a sum. «male pupils» in an exam means boys. «Oh boy» counts no boy. Teasing names like «mummy's boy» are unkind.

### In the corpora

- [Bridesmaids are friends or relatives who help the bride and walk with her, and children can be flower girls or page boys.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/13-dates-engagements-and-weddings/13/)
- [A bot has no body, so it is neither a boy nor a girl; a name and voice are design choices.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/2-guessing-the-next-word/11/)
- [Warmer sand gives more girl hatchlings and cooler sand more boys, and bright beach lights can lead hatchlings the wrong way.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/31-turtles-and-tortoises/13/)
- [Picture a boy who dreams of a husky in a small flat while everyone is out all day.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/325-choosing-a-pet-the-questions-to-ask-first/3/)
- [«Very well sung, boys!» cries the Rat.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/44-willows-ch5-part4-the-carol-and-a-happy-homecoming/1/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «boy» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/boy/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.