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Glite Dictionary
boyfriend

boyfriend

∞ 1.0
A man who is in a romantic relationship with someone
  • noun
  • /ˈbɔɪfrɛnd/
translation icon : novio
  • I went to the movies with my boyfriend last night.
  • girlfriend and boyfriend
  • friend and boyfriend
  • relationship with boyfriend

So let's just say my boyfriend's name is Dee Dee.

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Examples

  • Mostly, she sat next to the telephone waiting for her boyfriend, George, to call.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Terry admits to having a steady boyfriend and engaging in sexual activity.

    Academic text (2008)

  • So yeah, this is my boyfriend and we are in love.

  • Oh, what a good boyfriend he was in some ways.

    Michelle Phan

  • And her boyfriend ran to the Apple Store.

    Apollonia Ponti

  • What kind of a boyfriend are you?

    Jacket (2018)

  • So I called my boyfriend Matt at the time.

    Molly Burke

  • I think I've lost my boyfriend to Call of Duty.

  • Given my struggle to assert myself in my relationship with my boyfriend, I particularly respected him for that.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Not surprisingly, given her extraordinary looks, Yvonne had found a boyfriend by the second week of school.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

man
vsboyfriend
∞ 1.0

A woman's partner, usually her husband or boyfriend

is specifically for an unmarried romantic male rather than including spouses
partner
vsboyfriend
878 1.1

A husband, wife, or long-term companion in a romantic relationship

is typically a nonmarried male relationship, often shorter term or casual
lover
vsboyfriend
614 1.0

A person who has a romantic or sexual relationship with someone

is specifically male rather than including partners of any gender
mate
vsboyfriend
  • UK
194 1.2

A person who is your partner in a close romantic relationship

is used for an unmarried male partner rather than someone married
significant other
vsboyfriend
33 3.3

A person you have a long romantic relationship with and often live with

is specifically a male who is typically not married and not necessarily long-term
beau
vsboyfriend
16 7.8

A man who is someone's romantic partner or boyfriend

is the neutral modern term used in everyday speech rather than formal language
swain
vsboyfriend
  • Archaic
4 9.9

A man who loves a woman and tries to win her, often in old poems

is the everyday modern term rather than poetic or literary usage

Compounds

ex-boyfriend
15 2.2

A man who used to be someone's boyfriend

How Serious

husband
∞ 1.0
partner
878 1.1
boyfriend
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

boyfriend singular
boyfriends plural

Morphology

boyfriend = boy + friend (transparent) = boy + friend

The meaning is a simple compound of 'boy' and 'friend' and an average learner can derive 'male romantic partner' from the components.

Etymology

Boyfriend comes from simply putting boy and friend together, so it literally means a 'boy' who is also a 'friend' in a romantic way. So a boyfriend is a man you are close to and have a romantic relationship with.