Meaning & use
fraternity boy
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableinformalAmerican
a young man who is a member of a college fraternity, especially one who behaves in a loud, social, group-oriented way.
Grammar: Countable; use 'a fraternity boy' or 'fraternity boys'.
Patterns
- a fraternity boy
- fraternity boys
He was a fraternity boy at a big state school, so he knew all the campus parties.
The movie shows a group of fraternity boys causing trouble at a football game.
She said the fraternity boys next door kept her awake with loud music.
Word forms
| plural | fraternity boys |
|---|
Common combinations
- a typical fraternity boy
- He looked like a typical fraternity boy in his baseball cap and letters.
- fraternity boy culture
- The article criticized fraternity boy culture on college campuses.
- a fraternity boy at [university]
- Her brother was a fraternity boy at the University of Texas.
- act like a fraternity boy
- He still acts like a fraternity boy even though he graduated years ago.
Synonyms and how they differ
- frat boy
- A shorter, even more informal American term with the same meaning; it often sounds more dismissive.
- fraternity member
- Neutral and formal; it does not carry the stereotype of wild social behavior.
- brother
- Used inside a fraternity to mean a member, but it does not by itself mean 'college student'.
Word family
- fraternity noun
- A social organization for male students at a US college.
- frat noun
- Informal short form of 'fraternity'.
Commonly confused: fraternity boy or sorority girl? fraternity boy or frat boy?
fraternity boy vs sorority girl
A sorority girl is a member of a women's college organization, not a men's fraternity.
fraternity boy vs frat boy
Frat boy is the short, informal version; fraternity boy is slightly more formal but still informal.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'fraternity boy' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'A fraternity boy' means a male student who belongs to a fraternity, so 'He is a fraternity boy' is correct. Option 0 is wrong because you join a fraternity, not a person. Option 2 is wrong because a fraternity house is a building. Option 3 is wrong because 'fraternity boy' refers to a man, not a woman.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fraternity boy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.