boyfriend

boyfriends

A boyfriend is a male romantic partner. Your cousin might ask if she can bring her boyfriend to the family Thanksgiving dinner this year.

Usually, your boyfriend is a boy or man you're romantically involved with. Your aunt might join a dating site after breaking up with her boyfriend, and your ten year old neighbor might announce she has a boyfriend after a boy leaves a candy bar on her desk. The words boyfriend and girlfriend first appeared in the early 1900s, around the start of modern dating in the US.

Definitions of boyfriend
  1. noun
    a man who is the lover of a girl or young woman
    “if I'd known he was her boyfriend I wouldn't have asked”
    synonyms: beau, fellow, swain, young man
    see moresee less
    type of:
    lover
    a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
    adult male, man
    an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘boyfriend'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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