Boy Scout
Americannoun
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a member of an organization of boys BoyScouts, founded in England in 1908 by Lieutenant General Sir Robert S. S. Baden-Powell, that seeks to develop certain skills in its members, as well as character, self-reliance, and usefulness to others.
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(lowercase) a member of any similar society elsewhere.
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(lowercase) a person whose deeds, obliging personality, idealism, etc., exceed normal expectations.
noun
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See Scout
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informal an apparently virtuous and innocent person
Sensitive Note
Use of boy scout to mean “someone who is obliging and idealistic” usually implies that the person is naive or unworldly.
Etymology
Origin of Boy Scout
First recorded in 1905–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It seemed like a natural choice for the former bugle-playing Boy Scout, who attended the youth program at the suggestion of his grandmother.
From Los Angeles Times
Usually if he got mail, it was just postcards or brochures, reminding him about school events or basketball leagues or Boy Scout camp-outs.
From Literature
Since they’d been on the road, his father had taken the Boy Scouts’ motto, “Be Prepared,” to a new level.
From Literature
The asphalt dead-ends, but there’s a gravel driveway heading to the Boy Scout camp.
From Literature
If they let in the Boy Scouts, then everyone else who owned property and equipment around the lake wanted to retrieve their belongings, too.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
