Meaning & use
a frat boy
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Meanings
nouncountableinformalAmerican
A young man belonging to a university fraternity, often imagined as loud, carefree and fond of parties.
Grammar: Countable and informal: he is a frat boy.
He dressed like a frat boy in a pastel polo and boat shoes.
The comedy follows a frat boy who must grow up fast.
Not every frat boy fits the party stereotype.
nouncountabledisapprovingfigurative
A man of any age whose behavior seems immature, noisy or entitled in the manner associated with fraternity life.
Grammar: Used as a mild insult: don't act like a frat boy.
Patterns
- act like a frat boy
The new manager's frat boy humor annoyed the team.
At thirty, he still behaves like a frat boy.
Word forms
| plural | frat boys |
|---|
Common combinations
- typical frat boy
- He looked like a typical frat boy.
- frat boy humor
- The film relies on frat boy humor.
- act like a frat boy
- Stop acting like a frat boy at work.
- stereotypical frat boy
- The stereotypical frat boy is more caricature than reality.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fraternity member
- Fraternity member is neutral and factual, with none of the mocking tone.
- jock
- Jock stresses sporting interests rather than fraternity life.
- party animal
- Party animal focuses only on loving parties and does not mention university clubs.
Word family
- frat noun
- short for fraternity
- fraternity noun
- a men's social club at a college
- fraternal adjective
- like a brother
Commonly confused: a frat boy or fraternity brother?
a frat boy vs fraternity brother
A fraternity brother is simply a fellow member, without the stereotype.
Practice
Calling someone 'a frat boy' usually suggests that they are:
Choose one answer.
The label carries a party-and-privilege stereotype. The other choices do not match it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a frat boy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.