homeboy

69 9.1

An informal male friend from the same neighborhood or group

noun
/ˈhoʊmˌbɔɪ/

Slang

: amigo (coloquial)

Listen up, man, my homeboy and I are in some serious shit.
one of the homeboys
a lot of homeboys
homeboys from the gang

I ran across the field, went out the the back gate and I went to my homeboy's house who lived two blocks away from the high school campus.

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Examples

Hey, this is my homeboy Wayne.

Animal Factory (2000)
My homeboys tried to warn me -

Jackass: The Movie (2002)
The crew, I got a homeboy just took a trip with me.
I need to talk to you, homeboy.

That's My Boy (2012)
This is my cousin James and his homeboy Pete.
I'm just showing this homeboy around, okay?

Bound by Honor (1993)
Let me introduce myself, homeboy.

The Cable Guy (1996)
Hey, why don't you give my homeboy his change?

Menace II Society (1993)
House music blared, and everyone closed their eyes, dancing, rapping, hanging with their homeboys.

Fiction book (2000)
Hey, this is my homeboy Wayne.

Synonyms

boy

vshomeboy

Informal

∞ 7.4

An informal, friendly way to refer to a group of friends who are men

highlights belonging to the same neighborhood or local group rather than general address

homie

vshomeboy

Slang

131 8.6

A close friend often from the same neighborhood or background

is used for a male acquaintance from the same neighborhood or group

bro

vshomeboy

Slang

113 7.7

A male friend or a brother

often implies a shared local group or neighborhood connection

dawg

vshomeboy

Slang

33 9.6

A friend or close buddy used as a casual greeting

stresses same neighborhood or group rather than just slang friendship

homey

vshomeboy

Slang

20 8.6

A close friend you know well and trust

is more tied to shared neighborhood or group identity

chappy

vshomeboy

4 9.5

A friendly word for a man or boy

in contrast focuses on neighborhood or group relation rather than general naming

bucko

vshomeboy

Archaic

3 8.8

A friendly, informal name used for a man you know well

carries a stronger sense of shared neighborhood or group origin

brah

vshomeboy

Australian

1 9.9

An informal word for a guy friend, like bro

is more about being from the same neighborhood or group

bre

vshomeboy

South African

1 9.9

A close friend like a brother

emphasizes neighborhood origin or group belonging instead of general friend

brasser

vshomeboy

Slang

9.9

A casual word for a friend, often a man

usually denotes local group membership or neighborhood tie

Antonyms

enemy

∞ 1.0

A person who wants to harm or defeat you

Surface Forms

homeboy singular

homeboys plural

Morphology

homeboy = home + boy (transparent) = home + boy

A straightforward compound whose meaning ('a male from the same home/neighborhood') is directly derived from 'home' + 'boy', though it is informal/slang.

Etymology

Homeboy is simply home + boy, where home means 'your neighborhood' and boy means a young man, and it started as American slang in city and hip-hop culture. So a homeboy is a male friend or someone you know from your own area.